


Snapshots for the future

by puppybusby



Series: Snapshots [1]
Category: Warrior Nun (TV)
Genre: Ava and Beatrice? SOFT AND IN LOVE, Christmas Fluff, F/F, Fluff and Humor, does it border on crack, perhaps, the others? Chaotic and absolutely shipping them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 26,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28134153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puppybusby/pseuds/puppybusby
Summary: A quick glance at the clock on the bedside table almost had Mary reaching for the shotgun again.“I swear to God someone better be dying. It’s four in the morning.”Camila dropped face down onto the bed while Lilith folded her arm across her chest to glare at Beatrice.“We need to celebrate Christmas.” Beatrice said.“That’s what you woke us up for?” Lilith asked incredulously. “I’m not above strangling you, you know.”(Or; While on the run, Beatrice and the others pull together to make a day for Ava to remember)
Relationships: Sister Beatrice/Ava Silva
Series: Snapshots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2090595
Comments: 84
Kudos: 388





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [trixreads](https://archiveofourown.org/users/trixreads/gifts).



> So this is a gift for the brilliant Trix, she gifts this fandom SO MUCH with her art so I wanted to give her something as a lil thank you.
> 
> This is based on her incredible Christmas piece [here](https://trixdraws.tumblr.com/post/634500256197935104/have-a-super-early-avatrice-gift-for-the-coming)
> 
> Go check it out if you haven't already and hope you enjoy this lil chaotic festive journey

From the moment they landed in London, Beatrice felt uncomfortable. 

Even if it wasn't one of the most heavily surveilled cities in the world, the fact that she was once again in the same city as her family left a sickness in her stomach that she wasn't ready to deal with. 

It wasn't until they got out of the city that the anxiety began to settle, the long stretches of time on the motorways eventually gave way to single lane country roads. 

The clouds hung heavy in the sky, the threat of snow seemed ever looming. 

They passed through villages and small towns, the entire time Ava's face was pressed close to the glass, eyes bright with wonder. 

Christmas lights hung from the buildings, illuminating the streets as people hurried by, finishing the last of their shopping. 

It was the 23rd of December and with everything they had been through the realisation that it was practically Christmas seemed to finally begin to dawn on them all. 

Ava more so than anyone else. 

"Oh my God, look at these places." She murmured in awe. "Are we staying here?" 

"Not quite." Lilith spoke up. "We've got probably another hour to go." 

The further North they went the better, they were heading to a market town in Shropshire. Lilith's family had a cottage nearby and she had it on very good authority that nobody would be there. 

("It's too… Cosy. I believe it was an impulse buy as part of a whole 'disconnect from the world’ thing my father wanted to try.") 

If all went to plan, it would be just out of the way enough for them to lay low for a few weeks, to evaluate their next steps for the future ahead. 

"An hour?" Mary groaned. "It's barely afternoon and it already feels like it’s getting dark." 

If Beatrice was right, it'd be virtually night time by four, and while she had never been to the county that they were heading to, she knew that their winters were worse than what she experienced back in London. 

She didn't fancy the idea of navigating country lanes in the dark as it was, throw in the added prospect of icy roads and it just made Beatrice want to get to their destination as soon as possible. 

\--

Ava gasped as they stood before the gates of the cottage, eyes wide and any notion of helping with their bags totally forgotten. 

As Beatrice reached her side, Ava reached out blindly, patting Beatrice's arm until she finally grasped Beatrice's hand. 

"Oh my God it's like I'm in the fucking Holiday!" 

Despite the biting cold already numbing her fingers, Beatrice's blood sang with the warmth of the touch. 

Still, she couldn't help the confusion that made its way to her face. 

"The Holiday? Also, language." 

Ava tore her gaze away to look at Beatrice. "Kate Winslet? Good old Cameron D?? Jack Black?!" 

Beatrice blinked at her. 

"Oh my God you need to watch it, Cameron and Kate do a house swap because apparently that's a healthy way to deal with your problems and Cameron ends up in a cottage just like this!" 

She seemed more excited than usual as she took in the small cottage amongst sprawling fields dusted in white. 

Beatrice wondered if Ava had ever seen snow in her life. 

Before she could ask, Lilith breezed past them, breaking the moment. 

"You could help, you know." She directed this at Ava as she made her way towards the door. 

Ava dropped Beatrice's hand and sighed heavily. 

"Fine. Fine." She flashed Beatrice another smile and darted back towards their van. 

Beatrice watched her go before she followed Lilith into the cottage. 

The cottage was dark and there was definitely a layer of dust that seemed to cling to every surface. 

"It seems colder in here than it does outside." Beatrice commented idly. 

"I can't imagine that anybody has been in here for a year at the very least." Lilith called from the living room. 

Beatrice followed her voice into the room and took in the furniture. 

There were no traces of Lilith or her family that she could see. No photographs on the walls or hints of personality. 

It felt more like Beatrice had walked onto a movie set. 

Lilith busied herself with checking the chimney, muttering quietly under her breath. 

"Is there heating?" Beatrice asked. 

"Yes. But I wasn't kidding when I said it was rustic. We will need the fire too. Let me and Mary worry about getting that sorted." Lilith rose to her feet. "There are three bedrooms, one has a queen, the other is a king… The third is more of a child's room." 

"I'll take the sofa or floor." Beatrice said. "I'll leave the bedrooms to you and the others." 

It was easier to remove herself from the equation, from the living room she had a relatively clear view of the front door and the huge windows gave a great visual of anything going on outside. 

Currently she could see Ava and the others making their way inside. 

"Seriously, watch The Holiday, this place is a dead ringer for it." Ava's voice trailed through the cottage. 

Lilith rolled her eyes and kept her focus on Beatrice. "There should be spare blankets upstairs. Any luck the heating should be fine once we've left it running for a while but until then hot water may be a no go." 

"I'm guessing it'll be too optimistic to assume there will be any food here?" Mary asked. 

"Naturally." 

Mary sighed. "Fine, how far from that village are we?" 

"Ludlow? Twenty minutes give or take. There's a supermarket there too." 

"Alright, give me ten minutes to stretch my legs and I'll head out. Who's coming with?" 

"I'll come." Camila offered. 

"I suppose I should too. Knowing you, you'll get lost trying to get back." Lilith added. 

Mary glared at her but didn't rise to the jab, turning away to explore the cottage. 

Ava threw her jacket onto the armchair as she dropped onto the sofa and began to tug her boots off, pausing to look at Lilith and Beatrice. "Genuine question, will my feet be freezing if I take these off?" 

Beatrice nodded. "Very much so. I'd wait until we get the fire going." 

"Got it. TV?" 

It was a small, old model that seemed to be there more as an afterthought than anything else. 

"No channels, there's a dvd player and some movies upstairs though." Lilith explained. 

Before Ava could jump on that, Beatrice interrupted her. 

"I know it's easy to forget, but we are still on the run. This place will buy us enough time to regroup and recover but you still need to focus on your training." 

The way Ava's face fell was surprisingly disheartening to Beatrice. Ava's shoulders dropped and she cast a long look towards the space in front of the windows. 

"Yeah." She agreed quietly. "No rest for the wicked, right?" 

Mary and Camila both looked over to Beatrice at Ava's words, even Lilith looked a little more put off than Beatrice would have expected by Ava's tone. 

A few seconds passed and Ava jumped back to her feet, grinning in a way that could only be forced as she glanced at each of them in turn. 

"I'm gonna check out the backyard." She announced and drifted past them before anyone could say otherwise. 

Beatrice watched her go. 

"What the fuck just happened?" Mary asked. 

"Language." Beatrice and Lilith replied absentmindedly. 

"Whatever. We're going to go before it gets any darker and you…" Mary looked to Beatrice and gestured to the direction Ava had gone. "Deal with that." 

"Deal with it?" Beatrice asked.

"You're the Ava expert." Mary shrugged. "She listens to you." 

"I wouldn't say that…" 

"Oh, I would." Lilith interrupted. "You two have a whole… Vibe." 

Mary snorted. "Yeah that's one way to put it. We'll be back in a bit, good luck." 

Beatrice was soon left alone in the cottage. She entertained the idea of trying to get the fire going but pushed the idea aside in favour of something more important. 

Namely, Ava was still outside. 

In what was definitely freezing temperatures without her jacket. 

Beatrice grabbed the still warm leather and made her way into the kitchen. 

The backdoor was thrown open and Ava was leaning against the wall just beside it, her arms were folded loosely across her chest as she stared up at the sky, her hood pulled up over her head. 

"Hi." 

Ava smiled, but didn't look away from the sky. "Hey." 

It felt painfully awkward and Beatrice couldn't explain why. 

"Here." Beatrice held out Ava's jacket. "I honestly don't know how you're not freezing right now." 

This time Ava did look at her and when she smiled it reached her eyes. 

"Oh, I fully can't feel my body right now." She tugged the jacket on and shoved her hands into her pockets. 

"What are you actually doing out here?" Beatrice asked. 

Ava shivered, though she tried to disguise it as a shrug. "Thought it might start snowing." 

Beatrice stepped outside and joined Ava by the wall. "Is that really it?" 

"Pretty much." 

Beatrice couldn't help but feel that there was more to it than that. That her comment about them still being on the run was responsible for Ava's shift in mood. 

"We won't just be training, Ava." Beatrice said softly. "We'll have time to relax properly." 

Ava hummed. "Merry Christmas, right?" 

"Indeed."

"Well, I'd still choose being on the run with you guys than being back in Saint Michael's so…" Ava shrugged again. "It's whatever." 

Beatrice felt like a bit of an idiot for not making the connection sooner. 

It was Ava's first Christmas since she'd received the halo, and based on what she had shared about her years in the orphanage, Beatrice couldn't imagine that the Christmases there were anything special. 

"It's fine." Ava dismissed before Beatrice could ask a follow up question. "We should head inside right? Try and get that place warm enough that we won't freeze to death in our sleep." 

It was a deflection, one that Beatrice was willing to allow for a while. 

"Yes, we should also see if the beds are made too." 

Ava followed Beatrice back into the house, closing the door behind her. 

"How many beds are there?" 

"Three, I've already offered to take the sofa so you'll need to decide amongst yourselves who will have them." 

Ava hummed thoughtfully but otherwise remained quiet.

\--

"Hey Lilith?" Camila asked as they wandered down an aisle. "What did you mean by Ava and Bea having a vibe?" 

Mary tried to hide her laugh behind a cough as she trailed beside her with a basket. 

Lilith offered a weak shrug. "Just that they have a whole… Energy? You two have noticed it right?" 

"You mean how sometimes they're staring at each other so hard it looks like they're about to kiss?" Mary offered. 

"Oh my gosh, you guys see that too?" Camila exclaimed. "I thought it was just me." 

"Most of our time has been spent together in a van." Lilith said. "I think that the only people who haven't noticed are Ava and Beatrice." 

Mary did laugh then, thinking back to all of the times she had been driving through the night and glanced in the rear view mirror to see the pair asleep, Ava using Beatrice's shoulder as a pillow. 

The two seemed to share so many quiet moments and it had been clear, to her at least, that something was building between the pair. 

It was reassuring to know that Mary hadn't been the only one to notice either. 

"I've seen them hold hands a few times." Camila admitted. 

"In the middle of the night, right?" Lilith asked. She paused to throw some food into the basket. "I've woken up and seen it too." 

"Do you think they would do anything about it?" Camila asked. 

"I know Beatrice is a genius and everything but I genuinely don't think she'd do anything unless she knew Ava felt the same." Mary explained. 

"And Ava is most definitely not a genius." Lilith sighed. “She’s oblivious.”

"They'll work it out." Camila said. 

"And if they don't, we lock them in a room together." Lilith shrugged. 

"Extreme, but we'll keep it in mind." Mary said. 

As far as Mary was concerned, they had the next few weeks here. There'd be plenty of time for the pair to have time alone together. 

Plus, it was Christmas. 

"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but there's a movie section here right?" Mary asked. 

"Yes, why?" 

"Just… Just take me there." 

\--

It was strange to think of this cottage as belonging to Lilith's family. Even from what little information Ava had about Lilith's family, the building just didn't seem to fit with what she had pictured. 

Beatrice had pretty much left Ava to her own devices while she worked on getting the fire going. 

The pipes in the walls groaned, which with only her and Beatrice in the place was more than a little unsettling. 

But beyond the creepy noises and the cold, it was a beautiful cottage. 

"You found the blankets then." Beatrice noted as Ava made her way back into the living room. 

"And you got the fire going, good job." 

Ava dropped the blankets onto the floor and knelt down beside them. Beatrice was nearby, still by the fire. 

Beatrice smiled. "It wasn't as bad as I thought." 

Ava smiled back and set about splitting the blankets up. There was already one on the back of the sofa that Beatrice could use and Ava had found some spare pillows so that the floor wouldn't ruin her own back. 

"The others can have the beds." Ava said. "You all deserve to have a proper rest. I can take the floor." 

Beatrice's smile faded quickly as she shook her head. "No, you take the sofa Ava -" 

Ava cut her off with a soft laugh. "We both know we can argue about this all night. How about we alternate?" 

Beatrice closed her mouth and nodded. "Fine." 

Ava pulled off her boots and shifted closer to Beatrice so that she could stretch out in front of the fire. 

"I like this place." Ava decided. "It's cold and it's probably going to feel super cramped when the others are back but… It's cosy." 

"I can tell." Beatrice replied. "Is it just because it makes you think of that movie?" 

"A little." Ava said. "You're going to think I'm stupid." 

Not that it's ever stopped Ava from speaking every thought that flashed through her brain before. 

"Try me." Beatrice replied softly. 

They shifted in their positions slightly, enough that they were almost facing each other.

"So, St Michael's, watched a whole lot of TV there, you already know that. Have you ever seen the shitty, sorry, crappy Christmas movies they show?" 

"Not for several years, but yes." 

"They're all the same really, girl who doesn't really care about Christmas ends up in a small town, meets a cute boy who shows her the magic of Christmas and they fall in love." Ava pulled her knees up to her chest. "But I kinda loved them, you know? Christmases at St Michael's weren't exactly great. There were never presents or anything like that." 

It sounded dumb as she explained it, even dumber that they were in the middle of being on the run from all sorts of threats and yet here she was, gloomy over it being Christmas. 

"This place is making me think of it more. It's dumb, but every time I look at that window I think about how good a tree would look there." Ava shrugged. "Not that I would know, I don't actually remember ever having a tree? We must have though… I just don't… I  _ can't _ picture it anymore. I don’t remember." 

Beatrice blinked several times as she registered Ava's words. 

"You've never had a real Christmas." 

"Damn." Ava forced herself to laugh. "When you say it like that it really sounds pathetic." 

"No, Ava -" Beatrice shifted closer. "I didn't mean for it to sound that way." 

"Mom tried, I know she did." 

Beatrice's hand came to rest on her shoulder. "From what you've told me about her, I know that to be true." 

Ava smiled at the touch and shook her head, pushing all thoughts of her own experiences to the side in favour of focusing on the girl beside her.

"What were your Christmases like?" Ava asked.

Beatrice glanced towards the flames, her face had shifted back to its carefully neutral expression. "Hollow." 

Okay so not the only one lacking in fond Christmas memories apparently. 

"It was different when I was a child, I wasn't aware of what was going on around me. But as I grew older I began to see it for how forced and emotionless it was. How my parents used it to show off their wealth or to showcase our 'perfect' family for my fathers potential voters."

Beatrice sighed and used her free hand to push the hair from her face. 

"Not really a magical time, huh?" Ava asked. 

The corners of Beatrice's lips quirked up slightly. "Not particularly, no." 

"If we survive this whole thing… Do you think we could try the Christmas thing?" Ava asked. "I think we should have nice memories to look back on if we make it to old age." 

Truthfully even thinking about the possibility of growing old seemed wrong to Ava. 

Before she could spiral down  _ that  _ path, Beatrice turned to Ava fully and smiled, there was a smudge of soot along her cheekbone. 

"I think I'd like that." Beatrice replied. 

"Yeah?" 

"Yes." 

Ava grinned and her gaze dropped to that smudge once more, she saw Beatrice raise an eyebrow. 

"What?" 

Ava laughed. "You've got a little… Hang on." 

She reached forward and pressed her thumb to Beatrice's cheek and wiped softly at the smudge. 

Beatrice's eyes never left hers and sure, Ava might be being a little dramatic but she couldn't help but feel a little breathless at the way the embers from the fire reflected in Beatrice's eyes. 

Okay, it was getting too hot in here now. 

"You had a little soot…" Ava explained. 

She flattened her palm against Beatrice's cheek and her thoughts immediately shot back to that day at ArqTech and how similar the moment felt. 

Ava had forgotten how to breathe that day too. 

Beatrice's hand came up to cover Ava's, instead of pulling her hand away, Beatrice pressed down and turned her cheek ever so slightly into Ava's touch. 

Holy shit? 

The front door slammed open. 

_ Holy shit. _

In between the mini heart attack that Ava suffered as a result of the sudden noise, she was vaguely aware of both her and Beatrice jumping to their feet and spinning to the source. 

Mary, Lilith and Camila stood in the doorway, each with bags in their hands as all of their gazes met. 

The silence was  _ almost _ conical. 

"Oh hey, you got the fire going!" Camila grinned. 

Mary and Lilith looked between Ava and Beatrice, each of them looked suspiciously amused. 

"Been busy?" Lilith asked. 

"Not particularly." Beatrice replied. "Heating should be running and we have the fire." 

Mary hummed and fished something out of a bag and tossed it towards Ava. "Don't say I never get you anything." 

Ava scrambled to catch it, almost tripping into Beatrice's side in the process but managed to get a firm grip on the object. 

"Oh my God-" 

"Ava."

"Oh my dog." Ava corrected at Beatrice's warning. "Look Bea! It's The Holiday!" 

She held up the dvd proudly. 

Beatrice smiled indulgently. "Perhaps we can watch it after dinner." 

"We'll see." Mary said. "I'm tired as fuck man and I really just want to eat, shower and sleep." 

"Tomorrow is good." Ava agreed. "It's like a two hour movie anyway." 

"Right, we're going to put this all away, figure out what we're going to cook. Mary, you can go shower first." Lilith said. 

As Camila and Lilith walked towards the kitchen, Camila threw another look in their direction. 

"Bea, you've got soot on your cheek." 

\--

When Beatrice woke up in the middle of the night, it was to whispers and flashing lights in the previously dark room.

She shifted as quietly as possible onto her side and was greeted with Cameron Diaz on the TV, wrapped up in winter clothes and trying to navigate a snowy country lane with suitcases in tow.

The volume was turned down low and subtitles flashed across the screen.

Only a few inches in front of her, sat Ava, knees drawn up to her chest and draped in blankets as she watched the TV.

Beatrice had never seen her so focused.

She thought about saying something, even reaching out to touch the girl but ultimately decided against it and rolled onto her back to stare up at the ceiling.

_ "I think we deserve to have nice memories to look back on if we make it to old age."  _

Ava’s words had rarely left Beatrice’s thoughts since she had spoken them. She was right after all.

They did deserve to have nice memories. There was more to them than their responsibilities as Sister Warriors. Plus, the future was nothing if not uncertain, what if they didn’t make it to old age?

Ava had already died once.

Beatrice closed her eyes. The answer was painfully clear.

\--

When Mary was dragged from her sleep by the sound of the door to her bedroom opening, she instinctively reached for one of her shotguns, only to falter when she saw Beatrice entering with a confused Lilith and Camila in tow.

A quick glance at the clock on the bedside table almost had Mary reaching for the shotgun again.

“I swear to God someone better be dying. It’s four in the morning.”   
  
Camila dropped face down onto the bed while Lilith folded her arm across her chest to glare at Beatrice.

“We need to celebrate Christmas.” Beatrice said.

“That’s what you woke us up for?” Lilith asked incredulously. “I’m not above strangling you, you know.”   
  
Beatrice, more than used to Lilith’s threats, merely continued. “Ava hasn’t had a proper Christmas before and I think that she- we, deserve to actually enjoy ourselves for once.”

Lilith and Mary shared a look while Camila curled up next to Mary, apparently torn between going back to sleep or contributing to the conversation.

They should have figured that this would be to do with Ava.

“Okay.” Mary yawned into her hand. “Sure, whatever. We’ll do Christmas.”   
  
“We can do gifts.” Camila said.

“Or mistletoe.” Lilith added under her breath.

Beatrice cleared her throat and glanced towards the window. “I would like to surprise her with it, if possible.”   
  
“Hence the emergency meeting at, may I repeat, four in the morning.” Mary said.

Lilith walked around to sit on the edge of the bed. “How do you propose we get her out of the cottage long enough to do anything? Please keep in mind it’s Christmas Eve and everything will be closing early.”   
  
“We can say we’ll do a secret Santa? Each draw names from a hat and then while we take care of getting a tree and everything we can send Ava into town with someone.” Camila suggested in between several yawns.

“That… Could work.” Beatrice agreed.   
  
“Wonderful.” Lilith clapped her hands together. “Now can we please talk about this when it’s morning?”   
  
Mary laughed under her breath, Lilith was grumpy when she hadn’t slept and it was endlessly entertaining.

“Right. Of course, sorry.” Beatrice offered a small smile. “Thank you.”   
  
None of them moved as Beatrice left the room. Each of them listened to the quiet footsteps fade away and only when they disappeared entirely did Lilith let herself fall back against the mattress.

“We’re going to rig the secret Santa so that they get each other, right?” Camila asked.

Lilith scoffed. “Well  _ obviously. _ ”

\--

As Beatrice made her way back into the living room, the only source of light she had was from the dying embers of the fire and the barely there pulse of the halo to guide her. 

Ava was fast asleep on her stomach, blankets piled around her. 

Beatrice hesitated by the sofa before she crouched down and carefully pulled the blankets over Ava's body. 

As she settled back down and drew the covers over herself, Beatrice looked up towards the ceiling. 

It probably wasn't going to be much, but one way or another, she was going to give Ava a Christmas to remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rest of it will be posted in the next couple days! 
> 
> Go show Trix some love on [tumblr](https://trixdraws.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/trixdraws)
> 
> as always, you can find me [here](https://yashastrongarms.tumblr.com/)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you know that thing I do when I post a fic and the first chapter is like... 4k but then the next one is 3X that length? Yeah... I'm so sorry lmao but THEY HAD A LOT TO DO IN ONE DAY

The kitchen was absolutely not designed to have five people huddled into it, that much became apparent pretty quickly. 

It didn’t stop them from crowding into the space however, with Beatrice huddled up into one corner, a mug cradled in her hands while Mary and Camila tried to manoeuvre around each other.

Lilith and Ava sat at the tiny table beside Beatrice, the radio beside the kettle quietly offering Christmas music to fill the spaces of silence.

“Wait…” Ava began, somehow she managed to make eating toast look thoughtful. “So, secret Santa? Seriously?”

“Seriously.” Beatrice nodded. “I know it isn’t much but…”   
  
Ava shook her head. “No, it’s perfect. I get that we can’t do much, honestly, I wasn’t even expecting this. I’d have been happy to settle for a lie in and watching trashy movies.”   
  
There wasn’t going to be any settling. Beatrice had already gone over how much money they could afford to spend on this whole thing.

(they really owed Mother Superion one for the credit card)

It wasn’t going to be huge, but they were going to make it memorable one way or another.

“It’s settled then.” Mary said, taking a long sip of her coffee. “Ava, give me your beanie, you go train with Lilith for an hour then we’ll draw names and go from there. Nowhere will be open for a little while anyway.”   
  
“Are we training outside?” Ava asked, looking hesitantly out to the frost covered grass. 

“Afraid so. Better not half ass it unless you want to freeze.” Lilith replied.

Ava gasped dramatically. “Language!”   
  
Beatrice pinched the bridge of her nose. Lilith was going to destroy her for that.

\--

Mary quietly approached Camila’s side and jostled the beanie in her hand.    
  
“Here, grab a name, quick.”   
  
Camila frowned. “I thought we were rigging it?”   
  
“We are, I haven’t put Ava or Bea’s name in yet. Choose one now and keep it on you, when I go around the circle properly just pretend to grab a name and keep it in your hand. I’ll tell everyone not to look until we’ve all chosen.”   
  
“Oh that’s smart!” Camila shoved her hand into the beanie and glanced into the kitchen. “They should be finished soon too.”   
  
“Good, Lil said that there might be some decorations in the attic so I’ll have to haul myself up there in a bit to check.”   


“This is so exciting.” Camila sighed happily. “Ava is going to be so surprised.”    
  
“She fucking better be.”   
  
The pair made their way into the kitchen to where Beatrice sat at the table, there was a book open in her hands but judging from the way her gaze kept drifting towards the window, she hadn’t been paying that much attention to the words on the page.

Mary resisted the urge to roll her eyes. 

Oh Beatrice, that disaster. 

“They doing okay?” Camila asked.

Beatrice cleared her throat and set the book aside. “They stopped practising grapples and takedowns when Lilith nearly knocked Ava out. The ground is frozen solid, it doesn't seem particularly safe.”    
  
“Poor Ava.” Camila said.    
  
Mary hummed in agreement and sat down at the table. “So what’s the plan? We all drive into town and just split up?”   
  
“Lilith said she’d take care of the tree, which sounded… Ominous.” Beatrice admitted. “But if we all need to get gifts too…”   


“We'll figure it out.” Camila pointed out. "Me, Mary and Lilith can take care of most of it, but we should totally leave the tree for Ava to decorate.”   
  
“I agree.” 

Mary turned to Beatrice. “So if we all go into town, have a look around and then me, Cam and Lil come back here to get things set up, do you think you could keep Ava occupied in town for a couple of hours?”   
  
If there was one thing that Mary liked about Beatrice not wearing the habit anymore, it meant that little tells like the tips of her ears turning red were a lot easier to notice. 

“There’s a coffee place.” Beatrice replied. “And a castle. I think I can manage that.”

Their conversation was interrupted by extremely loud cursing that could only have come from Ava. Beatrice was on her feet as they all looked towards the window.

Lilith was hurrying back towards the cottage whilst Ava pushed herself up from the ground.

“I broke Ava.” Lilith said, moving past them towards the kettle.

“Broke? Broke how?” Mary asked.

Beatrice was already moving towards the backdoor and Mary glanced in her direction to see Ava heading their way.   
  
Lilith grabbed a mug from the cupboard. “Well, long story short? I flipped her, she landed on her head. Everything is fine.”

It really shouldn’t be funny, but the way Beatrice stared incredulously at Lilith had Mary fighting to hold back her laughter to the point where Camila had to kick her shin under the table.

“Dude, what the fuck!” Ava yelled, appearing at Beatrice’s side and yep, that was definitely blood streaked down the side of her head.

“Language.” Lilith said.

“Language?” Ava looked from Lilith to Beatrice. “You tried to crack me like a fucking watermelon and I have to watch my language?”

“Well now you’re just being dramatic.”    
  
This time Mary did laugh, covering her mouth to try and muffle it while four pairs of eyes snapped to her.   
  
“I think I’ve earned a bit of drama after you slam dunked me into a patch of ice and then  _ ran away. _ ”   
  
“I did not run!”   
  
“It was more of a scurry.” Mary supplied.

Camila snickered, oblivious to the daggers Lilith was now glaring into the back of her head.

“Let me see.” Beatrice said quietly, taking Ava’s chin in one hand and turning her head to get a better angle. Ava quietened down very quickly when Beatrice brushed the bloody hair from her cheek to see the injury.    
  
“I walked briskly.” Lilith insisted. “ _ Briskly. _ ”   
  
“You keep telling yourself that baby girl.” Mary replied.    
  
“It doesn’t look that bad.” Beatrice murmured. “Head wounds bleed more, but don’t panic.”

The two were suitably distracted, though Mary wondered if part of that came from them both thinking that Mary, Camila and Lilith were too distracted by their argument to pay them any more attention.

If that was the case, Mary was all too happy to keep Lilith talking so that they could have their little moment.

“So why exactly did you try to murder our halo bearer?” Mary asked. “I thought we were past that.”   
  
“It was an accident! Mostly.” Lilith moved towards the edge of the table and glanced in Ava’s direction. “The grapple, no. She made a terrible pun, it was warranted and I will stand by that. Her landing on her head? Yes.” 

“For the record…” Beatrice said softly, holding a dish towel against Ava’s temple. “Cracked like a watermelon? Not really a saying.”

“Noted. But in my defence it still feels like my brain is bouncing around in my skull.” Ava replied, with a grin.

“How do they make this look cute?” Lilith asked quietly.    
  
“I don’t know, but I appreciate how they’ve decided to just ignore our existence.” Mary replied. She held out the beanie towards Lilith. “Here, before they remember we’re right here.”   
  
Lilith reached in and pulled out a slip of paper.   
  
“I’ll go around again in a minute, don’t let them see you not actually draw anything.”

“Got it.”   
  
Ava took the towel from Beatrice and held it in place while Beatrice moved to wash her hands, now seemed like as good a time as any to move on from the little accident.

But first...

“Hey Ava, I think Lilith has something she wants to say to you.” Mary spoke up, grinning as Lilith glared at her.

“Excuse me?”   
  
“You cracked her head open, on  _ Christmas. _ ” Mary replied. 

“Oh, i’m going to kill you.” Lilith warned quietly. She sighed and turned to Ava. “I’m sorry for cracking your head open.”   
  
“Like a coconut?”   
  
“Better.” Beatrice said absentmindedly.

Lilith rubbed her temples. “Yes. I’m sorry for cracking your head open like a coconut.”   
  
Ava laughed. “Cool, thank you.”   
  
Mary held up the beanie. “Now that we’ve dealt with that like adults, shall we draw names?”   
  
She made a point of holding it out to Camila first, then Lilith. Each pretended to reach into the bag and then kept their closed fists on the table. Mary gestured for Ava and Beatrice to come closer before doing the same as them.   
  
She held the hat out to Ava next.    
  
“Don’t look until I say to.” 

Ava grinned, throwing the towel aside and shoving her not bloodied hand into the beanie. She held the paper close to her chest as Mary held the beanie towards Beatrice.   
  
Beatrice stepped forward and drew the final name.

“Okay, count of three and look at your names. 1, 2, 3.”

She pretended to look at her hand for a brief second before looking up to check Ava and Beatrice’s reactions.

Ava lit up immediately and shot a quick glance at Beatrice, while Beatrice took a long moment to look at the name she had gotten and slipped it into her pocket. Poker face well and truly in place.

“When Ava stops bleeding everywhere we can head out right?” Camila asked.

“Sure.” Mary agreed. “You all get ready, I'll go scrape the ice from the van.”

As Mary made her way out of the kitchen, she pulled the slip of paper from her pocket.

_ Camila. _

Easy enough, she already had some ideas.

\--

Despite her limited experience of visiting small English towns, Ava still believed this one to be exceptionally beautiful. 

There were enough people walking around that Ava got the impression that it was a bit of a tourist spot, but it wasn't busy enough that they would feel overwhelmed. 

Small streets, some with cobbled paths, old buildings with lights strung up outside and up a slight hill sat the ruins of a castle bearing down on them. 

As Ava got out of the van, she looked out to the sprawling hills and fields in the distance. 

"Holy shit." 

She could feel Beatrice staring at the side of her head.

"Sorry. Holy crap." 

"Try again." 

"...Wow?"

She saw Beatrice roll her eyes as her lips quirked into a smile. "Better." 

"Have you ever been here before?" 

"No, but I agree with your sentiment." She held out a familiar red beanie. "You're probably going to need this." 

Her head no longer hurt and Ava was pretty sure she'd gotten all of the blood out of her hair, but she was pretty sure that Beatrice was only offering it to her because of the cold. 

And damn, was it cold. 

"Thanks Bea." Ava smiled, pulling the beanie on. 

Beatrice reached out to adjust the beanie, her fingers were already cold enough to make Ava resist the urge to flinch. 

Gloves. Beatrice definitely needed gloves. 

"So parking is sorted," Mary approached them. "Beatrice, Lilith needs to speak to you before we head off." 

Beatrice nodded and headed back towards the van, leaving Ava with Mary. 

"You guys aren't just gonna leave me to wander around alone right?" Ava asked. 

"For the most part no, but if you want to keep your gift a secret, you're going to need to go into a store alone." 

"Right, speaking of gifts. Gloves, yay or nay?" 

Mary looked like she was going to slap her. 

"No. Definitely not." Mary reached into her pocket and handed Ava a twenty pound note. "Do better." 

Ava groaned. "I've never done this before!" 

Plus, what was she supposed to get Beatrice? 

She was thrilled that out of everyone she'd gotten Beatrice, but upon reflection it really occurred to her that there was very little she could think of that Beatrice would want. 

A bible just seemed far too on the nose and there was no easy way to get weapons in England. 

Though even if she could, Ava wasn't sure it was really Christmas gift material. 

("Merry Christmas! Here is a knife for all your stabbing needs!”) 

No. Absolutely not. 

"You'll be fine, just use this." Mary softened a little and she reached out to tap Ava's forehead. And then tapped Ava's chest. "And this." 

The second tap had Ava's suspicions flare a little, there was no way that Mary knew who she'd gotten, was there? 

"Awesome. Big help there Mary, thanks." 

"Hey, less of the sass, yeah?" Mary rolled her eyes. "You'll figure it out. Plus there's no rush, you have a good few hours." 

The others were watching them expectantly, so the pair made their way back towards the van. 

"Are we ready?" Camila asked as they reached them. 

"Sure, let's go." Ava nodded. 

Beatrice drifted back to her side as the group walked, they left the parking lot and reached the main square where a series of stalls had been set up. 

Ava had never seen a farmers market before, this was definitely the closest she had been to experiencing one. 

"We'll all meet up around here in a few hours?" Mary asked. When she was met with a chorus of responses, she nodded. "Okay let's get this over with." 

Ava watched as Mary, Lilith and Camila all walked off in different directions. Sure, they had been here the night before, but the ease in which they left still surprised her. 

She looked to the side to where Beatrice remained standing, watching their friends go with an equal amount of curiosity before her gaze caught Ava's. 

Beatrice smiled. "Want to explore together? I feel a little lost too." 

"Yes please." 

Beatrice's hands were shoved into the pockets of her jacket, so Ava looped her arm through one of Beatrice's. 

Beatrice's entire body tensed up for the briefest moment but relaxed before Ava could pull away. 

“So what do you know about this place?” Ava asked.

“Not much.” Beatrice admitted. “Though I know that they do a very good medieval Christmas fair every year up there.”    
  
She pointed towards the castle.

“What, like full outfits and everything?”   
  
“Yep. They really go all out, we missed it by a couple of days I’m afraid.” 

Ava shrugged and turned them in the opposite direction towards the shops. “Oh well, maybe another time.”   
  
“Another time.” Beatrice agreed quietly. 

Beatrice did that a lot, Ava noticed. Whenever Ava brought up the future. 

Ava understood though, how could she not? Ava had already died once so everything she experienced now was a whole other situation. It was weird enough without taking into account how the halo had given her the ability to walk again or the looming demon army that was trying to hunt them down.

It was still a new life to Ava, but for Beatrice? This had been her normal for so long. Beatrice had already lost so much, so Ava assumed that thinking about the future had never been on the cards.

Death could come at any time, after all.

It wasn’t something that Ava was willing to dwell on. She wanted to live, and she already knew that she wanted to live with this dysfunctional little family she had found herself a part of.

Besides, she needed to figure out what she was going to buy Beatrice.

“Is it weird being back in England?” Ava asked.

They made their way down an alleyway, christmas lights hung above them and for a moment she was lost in the soft glow they offered against the grey sky.

“A little.” Beatrice admitted. “Mostly when we first got here though.”   
  
“Did you grow up in London?”   
  
Beatrice nodded, her gaze firmly ahead of them as they walked, Ava noticed that with every person that walked by them, Beatrice would tense up for a moment.

Though she never pulled herself free of Ava’s arm.

“Do you miss it?”    
  
“I used to. Not so much now. I’ve found my home and people who… People who love me.”   
  
Ava bumped their shoulders together. “Damn right we do. No matter what right?”   
  
Beatrice’s smile was small, and she still didn’t look at Ava, but it was enough.

“Oddly enough, one thing I do miss is the theatre.”

“The theatre?”   
  
“I used to go often, to the Globe, by the time I left I pretty much knew Romeo and Juliet in its entirety, I'd seen and read it so often.”

“I’ve only seen the one with Leo and Clare Danes.” Ava admitted. “Both very hot, for the record. But I also didn’t get to finish it, one of the Sisters came in and declared it too sinful.”

Beatrice turned her head to look at Ava, both eyebrows raised before it was quickly hidden behind an amused smile.

“I can see why they’d think that. Do you know how the story ends?” Beatrice asked.

“Yeah, bit of a bummer isn’t it?”   
  
“Yes. But It was important to me regardless, tragic ending or not.”    
  
Ava knew then and there what she needed to buy Beatrice.

She wanted to ask more, she wanted to know every thought that Beatrice had about the play, what she loved about it, why it was so important to her.   
  
(Though Ava did have a bit of an idea about that last point)

Beatrice stopped, and it was only because of their arms being linked did Ava notice as she was jerked back slightly. She turned to Beatrice.

“What’s up?”   
  
Beatrice looked up at the sign of the shop they were outside.    
  
Costa Coffee? 

“What’s this?” Ava asked.

“England’s answer to Starbucks, there are a few dotted across the world though.” Beatrice replied. “Do you want a drink?”   
  
It was cold and experiencing this town aside, Ava really wanted to have more of this with Beatrice. More time alone so that they can just talk. 

“Definitely.”

\--

Ava’s arm slipped from her own when they entered the shop, it was surprising how suddenly she missed the contact.

The shop felt cosy, the walls were a warm red and it instantly felt like a place that Beatrice felt like she could find a spot into the corner and relax with a book for a few hours.

Both her and Ava peered up at the board behind the counter as they got into line.

“I have no idea what to order.” Ava said.

“What do you want to try? Coffee or hot chocolate?”   
  
“Oh, hot chocolate. That’s definitely more Christmassy right?”

Ava’s cheeks were red from the cold, eyes bright with excitement and Beatrice felt a warmth in her chest.

“I suppose so.” Beatrice agreed. “Regular or black forest? That’s their seasonal one.”

Ava considered this for a moment. “Regular. Not sure how i’d feel about the other.”   
  
“Marshmallows and cream?”   
  
“You know me so well.” Ava beamed.

Beatrice rolled her eyes. “Go find a seat, i’ll sort this out.”   
  
“You sure?”   
  
“Of course.”   
  
Ava bounced off through the shop as Beatrice placed their order. As the barista set about making their drinks, Beatrice had a moment to think.

She had an idea about what to buy Ava for her gift, and it wouldn’t be too difficult to find part of what she wanted.

But with the budget she had, Beatrice felt as though she may struggle a little. There were plenty of shops for her to try though.

The barista set their drinks down on a tray and Beatrice took them with a smile and headed in Ava’s direction.

Beatrice wasn’t exactly in a rush to start shopping though, this was nice.

“You’re the best.” Ava grinned. She’d removed the beanie and was currently in the process of fixing her hair.    
  
Beatrice pushed her own drink towards Ava, shrugging when she was met with a confused look. “It’s the black forest one, try it if you want.”

“Are you sure?”    
  
“Of course.” 

She watched Ava take the glass and take a tentative sip. Ava groaned, honest to goodness groaned and Beatrice had to look away quickly as she felt her cheeks heat up.

“Holy shit that’s good.” Ava pushed the glass back.

Beatrice cleared her throat and didn’t bother to correct her language. “We can come back another time, if you like.”   
  
“Sure.” Ava nodded.   
  
Beatrice wrapped her hands around her drink, sighing at the warmth she could feel seep into her skin.

“Your hands get cold fast.” Ava said.

Beatrice hummed. “We didn’t really buy suitable clothes to be here.” 

Truthfully, Ava with her beanie, hoodie and leather jacket was probably the most suitably dressed one of them all.

“True, I like it though.” Ava replied. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the habit and everything, but the flannel shirt, bomber jacket combo suits you.”

Beatrice knew she was at risk of blushing again if Ava was going to carry on like this, but a question burned heavily in Beatrice's mind. 

"How do you do that?" 

"What?" 

"Compliment so easily." 

Ava shrugged as she smiled, dropping her gaze to her drink. 

"It helps that I don't really have that much of a filter?" Ava looked up slowly to meet Beatrice's gaze. "But you know, it's only you I actually compliment, really." 

"You've complimented the others before." Beatrice pointed out. 

She could feel her pulse racing. 

"It's different…" 

"How?" 

"I only tell them that they're badasses." Ava replied. "It's different with you." 

"Why?" 

"Because it's  _ you."  _

The reverence in that final word carried so much weight that there was no room for interpretation.

Beatrice let out a slow breath, she hadn't expected the conversation to go in this direction. It almost felt like it had come out of nowhere. 

But had it? Things had been steadily changing since the day Ava had walked into her life. Perhaps they'd been walking towards this point for a while. 

"Shit, I'm sorry, is this too… Is it too forward?" Ava asked. 

She looked uncertain now, gaze shifting from Beatrice to the window. 

It felt like a watershed moment and Beatrice knew that she had a choice to make. 

Throw the walls up or embrace it. 

If Ava was going to try and lay her feelings on the table, then Beatrice would try her best to match that. 

"It's not too forward." Beatrice replied. She waited for Ava to meet her gaze again. 

"It's just…" Ava gestured vaguely as she searched for the words. "Do you remember what I said to you at ArqTech?" 

_ Don't hate what you are, what you are is beautiful.  _

Sometimes she hears it in her dreams. 

Beatrice nodded. 

"Did you believe what I said?" 

Silence fell between them and Beatrice saw Ava nod in understanding. 

"That's okay." Ava said. "I meant those words then and I mean them now. Even if you don't believe them yourself, I'll keep saying it." 

"Ava…" 

"I didn't mean to throw this on you here and honestly, I'm not entirely sure what it means?" Ava folded her hands together on the table and let out a long breath. "I just know that I'm happy when I'm around you and when you're happy it feels like nothing can go wrong in the world." 

Feelings on the table for the entire shop to see. Exposed, open and raw and so utterly Ava that despite the anxiety of the unknown, Beatrice couldn't help but feel an unfamiliar warmth in her chest. 

Mostly, Beatrice just wanted to ease away the uncertainty in Ava's eyes. 

Tentatively, she reached forward and pulled one of Ava's hands free. They each spent a long moment looking at their hands as Beatrice brushed their fingertips together. 

It just needed one more small movement, another little push. 

Beatrice inhaled as lay her palm flat against Ava's and was instantly met with Ava's hand closing, slipping her fingers between Beatrice's and holding on tight. 

There was a weight on Beatrice's shoulders that seemed to melt away as she exhaled. 

"I have thoughts, but I need time to figure out how to say it." Beatrice said. 

When she looked up and saw Ava smile, she knew that it didn't matter that she didn't have the words right now. 

Beatrice knew that Ava would have had the same reaction if she had remained silent. 

  
  


\--

"Do you think we went overboard with the lights?" Camila asked. 

"This entire thing is overboard." Mary muttered under her breath. "Who's going to hang these?" 

“You are, obviously.” Lilith said.

“No. No way. Fuck that.” Mary pointed at Lilith. “You do it!”   
  
“I’ve got to get the tree!”   
  
Mary sighed. “Son of a bitch.”   
  
They walked together back towards the parking lot, they hadn’t even looked for their gifts for each other yet. They hadn’t even discussed it, each had been so focused on getting the items on their list to turn the cottage into a relative winter wonderland.

Camila gasped loudly and grabbed Mary’s arm with enough force to startle her.

“Oh my gosh, look!” She pointed towards a window.

Mary and Lilith followed her gaze through the window to the coffee shop and sure enough, tucked into the corner sat Ava and Beatrice.

“They’re holding hands!” Camila exclaimed, drawing the attention of a few confused passers by.

“Oh shit.” Mary laughed. 

She saw Ava shift as though about to look towards the window.

“Oh  _ shit. _ ” Mary threw herself out of the line of vision, pulling Camila and Lilith back with her.

“Does this mean we wasted money on the mistletoe?” Lilith asked.

“We were only going to use that as a last resort, anyway.” Camila pointed out. “Oh I’m so happy for them!”   
  
“We know nothing, remember.” Mary pointed out. “We gotta act like none of this is happening.”   
  
“I know, I know.” Camila sighed. “So how do we get past here without them seeing us?”   
  
Lilith rolled her eyes. “Come on, there’s another way.”    
  
She crossed the street, leaving Mary and Camila to share a look before following her.

\--

Ava practically skipped down the street after leaving Costa. 

Whatever was building between her and Beatrice was mutual! Mutual!   
  
There was very little that could happen to make this Christmas better.

(Okay, maybe kisses, but that could stay in her dreams for now thank you.)

They’d both parted reluctantly after they finished their drinks, but they both knew that they still had to buy the gifts for their respective person. But once Beatrice had made sure that Ava had a rough idea of the layout of the town, they’d agreed on a meeting spot in an hour's time.

Ava had one clear goal in mind and it wasn’t long before her feet led her to a bookshop, the bell chimed overhead as she entered and beyond a couple of other customers the store was surprisingly empty.

She made a beeline directly to the counter. 

“Hey there, are you able to help me?” Ava asked.

The shopkeep smiled. “Of course dear. What is it?”

“I’m looking for a book- uh, play? But like… A fancy version?”   
  
“A fancy version?” The woman looked amused. “How fancy?”   
  
“As fancy as I can get for twenty pounds?” Ava replied. She felt a little ridiculous.

The woman pushed herself from her seat and moved around the counter, gesturing for Ava to follow. “Let’s have a look, shall we?”

  
  


\--

Camila really wished she had gloves. 

She held the ladder steady as Mary worked, stringing lights along the edge of the roof.

“I swear to God, Ava better lose her shit when she sees this.” She heard Mary mutter.

Camila shivered and tightened her hold on the ladder. “She will.”   
  
Camila was so excited to see Ava’s reaction, even more excited to see her reaction when she realised it was Beatrice’s idea to do this.

It was going to be such a nice Christmas, that was for sure.

“Where do you think Lilith is getting the tree from?” Camila asked.

“I have no idea.” Mary called back. “I’m just glad she took the van.”   
  
Camila silently agreed, the image of Lilith teleporting into the cottage with a tree over her shoulder was an entertaining but mildly terrifying thought.

There was a quick flash of movement from the corner of her eye and Camila turned towards it, feeling her heart catch in her throat.

Since when did England have tarantulas? 

She must have made some kind of jerky movement when faced with hell incarnate, because she heard Mary curse loudly.

“Easy down there!”   


"Mary… Mary. There's a  _ spider _ ." 

She could practically hear Mary roll her eyes.

"Cam, you've faced down a demon army. I'm sure you can handle this." 

Camila was pretty sure every one of the spider's eyes were staring directly into her soul. 

"But it's huge…" 

"If you let go of this ladder and I fall I can assure you that the spider will be the least of your worries." 

She was a Sister Warrior. Defender of all that is good and righteous. She wouldn’t balk in the face of an arachnid.

The spider moved closer to her hand.

Camila was already five feet away.    
  
“Nope! No, no, no, no.”   
  
“Cam! What the fuck!” Mary had a solid hold on the ladder with one hand as she threw the lights onto the roof. “I am  _ not _ dying for this!”   
  
Even from the distance Camila had put between herself and the spider, she could still see every part of it with horrifying clarity.

“Jesus, it’s just a bug, it’s not that bad.”    
  
Camila watched as Mary climbed down the ladder. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Camila was able to pinpoint the exact moment Mary spotted the spider.

Mostly because she had never seen Mary move so fast in her life.

“Holy fucking shit!”   
  
“I told you!”   
  
Mary eyed the spider warily. “Should I get my shotgun?”   
  
“Yes.” Camila answered immediately.

"What are you two crying about?" 

They both turned at the sound of Lilith's voice, spider drama instantly forgotten by the sight of her dragging a tree out of the back of the van. 

"Is that… Even going to fit in the cottage?" Camila asked. 

"It better, it took me forever to cut it down." 

"Cut it d- Lilith, did you steal a Christmas tree?" 

"I didn't steal it!" Lilith started to drag the tree towards the cottage. "I simply… Found a Christmas tree farm, cut a tree down and left some money." 

"So… Morally dubious at best then." Mary replied. 

Lilith looked up at the roof and frowned. "What's the hold up?" 

"Demon spider." Camila answered. 

Mary pointed at the creature, now making its home on the ladder. Lilith took a noticeable step back. 

"I'm getting the shotgun." Mary decided. “And we are  _ never  _ talking about this again.”

\--

Giving gifts was a bit of a foreign concept to Beatrice. 

Despite that though, she was more than a little confident that she had figured out the perfect gift in mind for Ava.

And while Beatrice knew that she could have easily gotten something for the others, it felt almost perfect that she had gotten Ava in the secret santa. 

(Could she call it fate? Would that be too dramatic?) 

But it was Ava's fondness of Christmas that had been the catalyst for them becoming… Whatever it was they were becoming. 

Ava didn't want to be alone, so Beatrice would make sure that Ava knew she always had a family with them. 

Ava loved the idea of Christmas so Beatrice was going to make sure they gave her a Christmas to remember.

Memories. 

Ava had so few positive ones and well, that was what led Beatrice to this moment. 

At the counter of a charity shop, tucked away at the end of the high street while the member of staff rummaged around in the back. 

The polaroid camera sat on the counter, slightly dusty and Beatrice was relatively certain this particular model was a good few years old, but it worked and it was  _ perfect.  _

"Here we go!" the elderly woman returned from the back room, a small package in her hand. "I knew we had some, somewhere."

She set the box of film beside the counter, apparently thrilled that she had been right. 

"Thank you." Beatrice replied. "I really appreciate you looking." 

"Of course, it's a gift isn't it?"

"How did you know?" 

The woman pointed to Beatrice's bag, or rather the contents inside. 

She really should have asked for a larger bag. 

"They go together very well. It's a good idea.”

"Ah… Thank you." 

Beatrice watched the woman hit a few keys on the cash register, humming under her breath to the music playing from the radio. As she did, Beatrice glanced towards the window just in time to see Ava walking by, a burgundy scarf had appeared around her neck. 

Ava turned her head and their gazes met, Ava threw a hand up in a wave and hesitated on the spot, gesturing to the ground with her hand, a silent request of  _ 'can I stay here?'  _

Beatrice nodded. 

"Is that the special someone?" 

Beatrice whipped her head back to the woman. 

Special someone? 

It did sound nice. 

"...Yes."

The woman flashed her a conspiratorial smile and quickly wrapped the camera up in bubble wrap before securing it and slipping it into a much too large plastic bag. 

“That one will fit in here too.” The woman nodded to the bag in Beatrice’s hand. “They won’t be able to tell what’s in there.”   
  
“Thank you.” Beatrice handed over the money and smiled.

“Enjoy your Christmas!”   
  
“You too.”   
  
As Beatrice made her way towards the exit, she dropped her bag in with the one she had just been given.

Ava was still waiting outside, a bag of her own swinging at her side, as Beatrice stepped out into the cold air to join her, Ava flashed her a bright smile.

“All done?”    
  
“Yes, I think so. You?”   
  
“All good.” Ava nodded. She reached into her pocket. “I got something for you.”

Ava held out a pair of black gloves towards Beatrice. 

“Why?"   
  
“Your hands get cold easily.” Ava shrugged.

Beatrice took them from Ava and slipped them on, smiling at Ava’s bright grin.   
  
“Thank you. I like the scarf, by the way”   
  
Ava bumped their shoulders together. “Anytime. And thank you! It matches my hat. Do you think the others will be waiting for us?”   
  
Beatrice kind of hoped so, it would be hard to explain if they got back to the parking lot only to find the van not there yet.   
  
“Shall we go check?” Beatrice asked.

This time, when Ava looped their arms together, Beatrice didn’t flinch.

“Lead the way!”

  
  
\--

It's like we're cleaning up a fucking crime scene." Mary mumbled. 

"A festive crime scene." Camila chimed in helpfully. 

Thankfully, nobody paid any attention to the three girls as they frantically tried to sweep out the errant pine needles from the back of the van. 

"So I admit that I may have made an error in judgment." Lilith said. 

"This is pointless." Mary hopped out of the van. "They'll literally be back any minute."

"If Ava notices it could ruin the surprise." Camila said, though she followed Mary out of the van. 

"We'll just get Bea to drive." Mary shrugged. "And if Ava doesn't call shotgun, sidenote I would definitely put money on her doing that, then we just make her ride up front." 

"Have you noticed how we've spent the last few hours running around doing this while Beatrice gets to sit and have a nice coffee date when it was her idea in the first place?" Lilith asked. 

"Aw, let Bea have her nice moment." Camila replied. 

"Plus, none of us could keep Ava distracted long enough without making her suspicious." Mary added. 

As she leant against the side of the van, she saw the girls in question approaching in the distance. 

"I can understand you two.." Camila frowned. "But why me?" 

"You can't lie." Lilith replied. 

"It's true." Mary nodded. 

Camila pouted but didn't argue. 

"Okay they have bags, they got gifts. You both brought gifts too right?" Mary asked. 

Camila pointed towards the van. "I even brought wrapping paper." 

Thank God for Camila because Mary and Lilith had definitely forgotten that part. 

"I'm so excited to see Ava's face when she sees the cottage." Camila sighed happily. 

Lilith shushed her. "Act natural, we don't know any-" 

"Took you guys long enough!" Mary called over Lilith. "You all done?" 

"Sorry." Beatrice replied. "We got held up, but yes." 

"Good, good." Mary threw the keys at Beatrice, who caught them easily but not without a confused frown. "Your turn to drive." 

"Shotgun!" Ava declared immediately, already scrambling for the passenger seat. 

To her side, Mary saw Lilith roll her eyes. 

She loved being right. 

"The back of the van looks like we skinned the grinch alive." Mary explained to Beatrice quietly as she passed. 

Both of Beatrice's eyebrows shot up, but nodded quickly as she headed towards the front of the van. 

\--

As they got closer to the cottage, Beatrice could feel the anticipation building in her chest.

Music filled the van as they drove. Behind her, Lilith and Mary bickered quietly but good naturedly while Camila hummed along to the radio. Beside her, Ava was too preoccupied with scrolling through her phone to pay attention to what was going on around her.

When the cottage finally came into view, Beatrice felt her breath catch in her throat.

Golden lights hung from the roof, even in the relative light of the day their glow was overwhelming.    
  
A wreath hung from the front door.

It looked cosy.

Beatrice shut the engine off and glanced quickly at Ava, quietly relieved that she hadn’t noticed yet. She heard the others throw the back door of the van open and scramble to get out and Beatrice hurried to do the same. 

“What’s the hurry?” She heard Ava call after them.

As Beatrice reached the path that would lead them up to the front door of the cottage, she glanced at the others. Did they feel as nervous as she did? 

They were definitely watching Ava with almost an equal amount of anticipation. 

As Ava walked around the van, she had her head down as she fixed her beanie. The moment she lifted her head, Ava froze in place. 

Beatrice watched her gaze drift upwards towards the roof, eyes widening in surprise. 

When Ava's eyes met Beatrice's, they softened considerably. 

"What is this?" She asked. 

Beatrice shrugged, trying too hard to come across casual. "Merry Christmas." 

Ava glanced at the others, taking in Camila's grin before looking back to Beatrice. 

"For real?" 

"For real." Mary confirmed. 

Ava walked closer, stopping just short of Beatrice. It looked as though She didn't quite seem to believe what was going on, it was only when Ava's gaze moved to the window and saw the shape that now filled the space. 

The childlike joy that flashed across her face was something to behold and Beatrice wished more than anything that she had the camera set up to capture the moment. 

"Is that…" 

"Should we go inside?" Beatrice asked. 

Ava reached out towards Beatrice for a moment before shooting another quick glance over to their friends and dropped her hand back to her side. 

Instead of whatever it had been that Ava was going to do, she grinned instead and nodded. 

Ava pressed close to Beatrice's side as she unlocked the door and let them all inside. 

Beatrice saw the bright red tinsel wrapped around the banister of the staircase and as they turned into the living room both her and Ava finally saw the tree clearly. 

It was huge, filling up the space in front of the window and so tall that the top of it almost reached the ceiling. Boxes of decorations and lights sat underneath the tree, a mismatch of bright colours and styles. 

"We thought about decorating it," Mary said from behind them. "but we figured you might want to do it." 

It was a touching offer, especially considering it was likely Ava had never decorated a tree before. 

"But why?" Ava asked quietly, she moved closer to the tree. "First the secret santa thing and now this?" 

She brushed her fingers across the branches and turned back to look imploringly at Beatrice.

"I- We just thought that you deserved to have a nice Christmas. That we all did." Beatrice replied.

"It was all Bea's idea." Camila supplied helpfully. 

"But they did all of the work." Beatrice said. "They deserve the credit." 

"Oh no, definitely give credit to Beatrice." Lilith spoke up. 

"We wouldn't have done anything if she hadn't suggested this." Mary said. 

Beatrice had to frown at her friends, they were definitely being weird, but in a way she couldn't put her finger on. 

Ava looked between them all, mildly confused but as her gaze settled on Beatrice that smile was back. 

"I really kinda wanna hug you?" Ava said, though the way her voice lilted at the end framed it more like a question. "If that's okay?" 

Beatrice was vaguely aware of Camila making some kind of pleased sound and quickly being pulled into the kitchen by Mary and Lilith. 

"Oh… Yes, that's fine." 

The words were barely out of Beatrice's mouth before Ava was barrelling into her, arms wrapping around Beatrice's neck as Ava pressed her face into her shoulder. 

There was no hesitation this time for Beatrice, her hands found their place against Ava's back, right above the halo and closed her eyes as she melted into the hug. 

Even through the clothes, Beatrice could feel the warmth of the halo and knew that it must be glowing.

It felt like that warmth was seeping into Beatrice and if she held Ava a little tighter, the other girl didn't say anything. 

If anything, Ava pressed closer into Beatrice. 

"Thank you Bea." Ava whispered. "Really, I don't know what to say." 

"You don't have to say anything." 

"I do. So thank you, thank you so much." 

\--

"Are they still hugging?" Lilith asked. 

Both Mary and Camila slowly peered around the door, waited a couple of seconds and then Mary turned back to her. 

"Still hugging." Mary confirmed. 

"Then I'm putting the kettle on." 

To say she was proud of Beatrice was an understatement. Lilith had been both witness to and on the receiving end of Beatrice's rare displays of affection over the years, but the unifying link between all of those moments were that they had been comfort offered in times of high emotion. 

Lilith couldn't think of a time where she had seen Beatrice offer casual affection with such ease. 

Not that she could really call anything that happened between her and Ava  _ casual.  _

"The hugging has ended." Camila announced. 

If Ava and Beatrice got their act together and started to date, it wasn't hard to imagine Camila insisting to be the one to marry them. 

But that was something for their future. 

As Lilith filled their mugs, Camila spoke once more. 

"Oh, now Bea is showing Ava the decorations…" She jerked back suddenly. "She's turning around, Bea is turning around and she is coming here." 

Camila moved to Lilith's side and grabbed the drink that she had made. 

Beatrice stepped into the room, bag now in hand as she looked at each of them. 

"Thank you again, for doing this." Beatrice said quietly. 

"Honestly it's no problem." Mary replied. "We're happy to help and it's actually been fun."

"Did you guys get your gifts?" 

"Yeah, Cam got wrapping paper too so we can take it in turns getting that part done." Mary said. 

Beatrice nodded and moved towards the table, setting the bag on top of it. From her spot at the counter, Lilith could see Mary trying to peer inside. 

"I know the idea is for it to be a secret, but I have something specific in mind in order for mine to work and… I need your help again." Beatrice said, the apprehension as she did wasn't lost on Lilith. 

Mary got up from her seat and gestured towards the living room. "Whatever it is, I'm all in, but if we all stay in here Ava is going to come in so…" 

As she left the room, Lilith saw Beatrice's brow furrow but the moment passed quickly as Beatrice was more focused on the task at hand. 

"I drew Ava's name, so part of my gift to her is this…" Beatrice pulled something out of the bag and unwrapped it, setting an old polaroid camera onto the table. 

Camila reached for it immediately. "And you want to take photos?" 

"Yes, if she asks where it came from can one of you say that you saw it and thought it would be fun to buy it?" 

"That would be more believable coming from Camila." Lilith said. 

"I'm on it." Camila nodded seriously. "So do you just want me to take pictures of her?" 

"Of everyone. Ava, she… Deserves to have good memories to look back on." Beatrice pushed a box of film across the table. 

Lilith quickly connected the dots on the extent of the meaning behind Beatrice's gift, trust her to go to the next level in terms of sentimentality and leave them in the dust. 

"Take photos, don't tell Ava it's for her present. Got it." Camila nodded more to herself than anything. 

\--

"So uh… This is probably going to sound dumb but is there like, a process to this?" Ava asked. 

There were three boxes in front of the tree, all filled with decorations and lights of various styles and colours. 

It was strangely overwhelming. 

Mary crouched down beside her and pulled a bright red bauble from the box, making a face when an obscene amount of glitter drifted from it onto her jeans. 

"It's each to their own really." Mary said. "There's not really a wrong way to do it." 

"Okay but… How?" 

"Some people will choose a theme and stick to it, all reds and golds or blues and blacks, things like that? Or, and I think this one will appeal more to you - Do whatever the fuck you want, it's a tree." 

"That does sound like more fun." And agreed. "Punk tree, fuck the rules!"

Mary rolled her eyes fondly and dropped the bauble back into the box. 

"How would you do it?" Ava asked. 

"I'm all for your punk tree." 

"No, I mean with the lights and everything." 

Ava had already spotted a few different sets that were tangled beyond belief. 

"Ah, right." Mary got back to her feet. "Plug them in first, see what colours they are and if all the bulbs work, untangle them and get them on the tree first. That part is probably the least fun but once you've done that you can start filling in the gaps with all your decorations." 

Ava nodded along. "I can do that." 

"Then you top it all off with an angel or a star." Mary pointed to the top of the tree. 

They both stared up at the tree in silence for a few seconds. 

"We could always put you up there." Mary said. 

Ava grinned. "With the halo and everything?" 

“Oh definitely.”

She was so glad they were on the same page. 

"Think I can get up there?" Ava asked. 

"Only one way to find out." 

That was all the encouragement Ava needed. As she started to move towards the tree, she felt a hand close around her hood. 

"It will fall if you try that." Beatrice spoke up. 

Ava turned enough to look at Beatrice, though the girl didn't loosen her hold on Ava's hood. 

"But it'd be really funny!" Ava pouted. 

"It would be really funny." Mary agreed. "Also there's no decorations on yet so the chances of disaster are considerably slim." 

Beatrice looked between them and let out a long, resigned sigh. 

"Please be careful." Beatrice said assure released her hold on Ava's hood. 

As Ava threw herself onto the tree, with Mary's laughs filling the room, all Ava could visualise was Beatrice's face, and how she was probably rolling her eyes or trying to hide her smile behind her hand. 

The random flash of light behind her was odd, but Ava put that down to the halo. 

\--

"So what else did you get her?" Camila asked. 

Beatrice looked up from the stove, after their time in Costa, she got the idea of making them all hot chocolate.

It had nothing to do with that making hot chocolate was the one of the nicer memories she had from her own childhood.

But did it always take so long to heat milk this way? 

"That's a… Surprise." Beatrice replied. 

Outside, Lilith and Mary were sparring to pass the time while Ava sat in the living room in the process of untangling Christmas lights. 

Beatrice glanced over her shoulder to see Camila pout dramatically at her before dropping her attention back to the radio she was fiddling with at the table. 

She was trying really hard not to be suspicious of her friends, but there had been enough little moments that made Beatrice think that they had played a much larger part in her getting Ava in the secret santa than she originally thought. 

"Why do you ask?" 

Camila looked up once more and flashed a quick smile. "Just curious, I figured it has something to do with the camera." 

"You're not wrong." Beatrice admitted. 

The radio crackled to life and Camila let out a triumphant laugh, immediately searching through the stations for Christmas music. 

There was a suspiciously loud thud from the living room that broke through the moment as both Beatrice and Camila looked to the doorway. 

"Ava?" Beatrice called. "You okay in there?" 

"Um… I could use a hand." Ava replied. 

"I… Okay." Beatrice glanced at Camila and gestured to the saucepan. "Can you watch this?" 

Camila waved a hand as she pushed her chair back to peer into the living room. 

She heard Camila muffle a laugh behind her hand and as Beatrice reached the doorway, she understood why. 

Ava was kneeling in front of the tree, smiling sheepishly towards Beatrice. 

The fact that she had managed to wrap herself up in the Christmas lights was definitely something new. 

"Ava… How?" 

"Mistakes were made." Ava replied. 

She tried to haul herself to her feet, only to topple forward and with her arms still trapped by the lights, Beatrice could only see it ending in complete disaster. 

Beatrice darted forward, crossing the room and getting her hands on Ava's shoulders to steady her. 

"I can see that." Beatrice said. "But why are the lights on?" 

Truthfully, seeing Ava surrounded by the twinkling golden glow of the lights wasn't all that different from whenever the halo would react. 

The lights made Ava's eyes sparkle. 

"Mary said it was the easiest way to untangle them and see where they're resting on the tree." 

Beatrice laughed softly and reached out to try and ease Ava's arms free. 

"What am I going to do with you?" 

Ava grinned up at her and that in itself was brighter than anything the fairy lights or halo could offer. 

"Help me out of this glowy prison before Mary sees and teases me about it for the rest of my life?" Ava suggested. 

"I suppose I can do that." 

\--

When Mary and Lilith stepped into the warmth of the kitchen, they both noticed three things at once. 

  1. There was now Christmas music playing from a radio. 
  2. There was a saucepan on the stove with the contents boiling over . 
  3. Camila was lurking by the door, completely engrossed in whatever was happening in the living room. 



"Cam, what the fuck?" Mary asked, she quickly moved over to the stove to shut it off and yep, that was a lot of milk burning. 

Camila looked over to them, eyes wide, her voice barely above a whisper. "Come here quick!" 

Lilith was beside Camila immediately, practically leaning over her so that they could both remain obscured by the doorframe. 

Mary moved to follow, grabbing the camera off of the table, there could only be one reason for Camila doing this after all. 

As Mary nudged Lilith so that she could look over her head, surely enough her instinct had been right. 

Trust them to leave Ava unattended for ten minutes and find her completely tangled up in the Christmas lights. 

Beatrice was trying to help her, and to say she was a highly skilled warrior, the girl was having a hell of a time trying to help. 

She was as tangled as Ava was. 

"They look like a fucking Christmas card." Mary mumbled. 

"Language." 

Mary ignored Lilith in favour of handing Camila the camera. 

"Be ready." 

\--

She couldn't do it. 

Getting Ava out of her situation was supposed to be easy. 

It definitely wasn't supposed to end up with her being tangled up too. 

And despite Beatrice feeling more than a little embarrassed at being bested by Christmas lights, it was hard to care when she had Ava a mere few inches from her, laughing so hard tears threatened to spill from her eyes. 

"I need to make a joke for this." Ava said between her laughter. 

"Please don't." Beatrice replied, she tried to pull herself free only to feel the lights tighten around her and pull Ava closer. 

"How many nuns does it take to change a light bulb?" 

Beatrice laughed. "Ava -" 

"Nun." 

" _ Ava. _ " Beatrice tried to duck her head to hide the fact that she was trying not to laugh, though she knew her shoulders were shaking too much for it to not be obvious. 

"Bad?" Ava asked. 

"Terrible." Beatrice replied. "Even for you." 

Ava's hands came to rest on Beatrice's shoulders, as Beatrice lifted her head Ava was still grinning at her. 

"Then why are you laughing?" Ava asked. 

Those damn eyes. 

"I think that's just the effect you have." Beatrice replied quietly. 

It was safe to say her words felt like a massive understatement. 

She didn't know when her hands had found their way to Ava's back, only that they were so close now, the lights wrapped around them and bathing them in intermittent flashes of gold. 

Ava's laughter faded, her grin eased into a soft smile. 

"Can I be forward for a second?" Ava asked. 

Beatrice held her breath, though she managed to nod. 

Ava adjusted the collar of Beatrice's shirt as she tilted her head up to hold Beatrice's gaze. 

It may have been her imagination, but she was certain that she felt the phantom touch of Ava's nose brush against her own. 

"You look really pretty." Ava said. 

Yep. Definitely couldn't breathe. 

"Ava…" 

"I mean it, Bea." Ava's fingers curled into her shirt. 

"I know you do." Beatrice replied quietly. 

Ava had already made as much clear earlier today. 

"You are too." Beatrice said. "More than I even know how to put into words." 

Ava smiled and for a moment, both were content enough to allow their words to settle between them. 

There was a sudden flash from the corner of her eye that had Beatrice freeze on the spot, even Ava noticed it, eyes widening in a mix of surprise and confusion. 

Even though Beatrice knew what the source of the flash was, she still followed Ava's lead in looking towards the kitchen. 

"What was that?" Ava frowned. 

Beatrice sighed. The automatic flash was always going to be a problem. 

She tried really hard not to let the fact that the others had seen them in this position and now there was photographic evidence of it get to her.

That was an anxiety she could process later.

Beatrice didn't want to lie to Ava, but she definitely didn't want to give away that she was Ava's secret Santa. 

"If I said that we brought a camera, would you trust me enough to leave it at that for the time being?" Beatrice asked. 

Ava seemed to reach some kind of understanding as the frown was quickly replaced with another smile. 

"Of course." She tipped her head forward to rest briefly against Beatrice's shoulder. "I think we need to ask the others for help though."

"Agreed."

\--

Once the lights were safely on the tree where they belonged, the decorating part was a much smoother endeavour. 

They'd all gathered in the living room, the boxes of decorations had been emptied and scattered on the floor. 

Ava hadn't been kidding when she had wanted the tree to be a mismatch of whatever decorations caught her eye, but the only way that it would really work was if everybody joined in to throw their own spin on things. 

She had expected some resistance from Mary and Lilith in particular, so it had been a pleasant surprise when they had settled near her to start decorating. 

With the music playing through the radio and her friends moving around her and the tree slowly coming to life before them, Ava had never felt more at home. 

But even amongst all of that, she found herself seeking out Beatrice more than usual. 

After putting a few golden coloured baubles on the tree, Beatrice had settled into the armchair. Her legs were drawn up onto the chair as she watched the scene unfurl around her.

Whenever she would look at Beatrice in the past, it always felt as if she was a moment too late. She'd see Beatrice's hair settle into place and wonder if she'd been looking at her too. 

Now though, Beatrice met her gaze easily. There was no hesitation, no question behind it. 

Ava smiled and felt her heart skip a beat when Beatrice smiled back. 

She was still a little confused about where the camera had come from and why it hadn't left Camila's side since they had all gathered, but there was one thing that Ava was pretty certain of.

She would have kissed Beatrice had they not been interrupted. 

A glittery bauble bounced off of her head and Ava snapped her attention to Mary. 

"Hey!" 

Mary grinned. "You're supposed to be decorating, so focus." 

Ava wiped the smudge of glitter from her forehead and launched some tinsel at Mary's direction. 

"Can we try to avoid fighting?" Lilith held a hand out. "Some of these decorations are from my childhood." 

Ava glanced down at the bauble in her lap. The entire cottage had no trace of Lilith or her family on its walls. No, the only trace of Lilith had been sitting in a box in the attic.

"Which ones?" Ava asked quietly. 

Lilith blinked at her for a few moments before she shifted closer to Ava, she searched through the decorations and pulled aside two glass turtle doves. 

"Each year my parents would let me and my sisters choose out a new decoration for the tree. These ones were mine, I chose them before I left to join the Order." 

Ava sat quietly as she watched Lilith trace her fingers along the edges of one of the turtle doves. 

"You should put them on the tree." Ava said.

Lilith looked up to meet Ava's gaze. "Really?" 

"Yeah, of course." Ava smiled. "That tree is for all of us right? Those are part of you." 

Lilith's smile was small, and from the way she was sitting, only Ava and Camila could see that. 

"Do you know what turtle doves mean?" Lilith asked. 

"As long as Home Alone lost In New York wasn't lying, then yes." 

Lilith rolled her eyes fondly and held one of the turtle doves out towards Ava. 

"Then… Here." 

Out of the whole group, it had taken Ava and Lilith the longest to get along, that was hardly a secret. They had come a long way since then though, and now Ava really felt like everything had fallen into place. 

She accepted the decoration and promptly got to her feet, waiting until Lilith got up too before moving towards the tree. 

"Where are you thinking?" Ava asked. 

"Towards the top?"

"Lead the way." 

As Lilith hung the decoration, Ava heard Beatrice speak up quietly. 

"I haven't seen Home Alone, what were they talking about?"

Ava stepped forward and hung her turtle dove beside Lilith's, grinning up at the pair. 

"Symbol of friendship and love, you give one to somebody you care about and so long each of you has your turtle dove, you'll be friends forever." Mary explained, her voice even quieter then Beatrice's. 

Ava quickly turned to hug Lilith's side. 

"Okay, no. Enough of this." Lilith said. 

"Just five more seconds." 

Lilith sighed heavily, but her hand came down to pat Ava's back a couple of times. 

This time, Ava wasn't surprised by the flash of the camera. 

\--

When it came to the time to put the star on top of the tree, it only seemed right to have Ava do the honours. 

The only problem they had was that none of them, least of all Ava, could reach the top.

"If I jumped, would it end badly?" Ava asked. 

"I appreciate that you asked instead of just trying it." Beatrice said. “But yes, possibly.”

"While this is a whole deep, meaningful moment, I do have to ask if we can wrap this up?" Lilith asked. "I want dinner at some point." 

"We could lift you." Beatrice said, turning to Ava. "It's not like we haven't done it before." 

Mary held up a hand. "Say no more."

It should have been a moment to end in disaster, but as Mary ducked down to haul Ava onto her shoulders and held on tightly to Ava's calves, Beatrice could only laugh. 

"Please don't drop her." Beatrice laughed. 

"We're fine." Mary glanced up at Ava. "You have the star right?" 

Ava held it out proudly. 

As Mary walked them to the tree, Beatrice moved towards Camila and grabbed the camera from her side. 

She waited until the moment Ava set the star in place before she snapped the photo. 

"I keep saying how nice this whole idea was for Ava…" Camila began as Beatrice pulled the photo from the camera and set it aside to finish developing. "But I don't think I realised how good it would be for all of us." 

Camila definitely had a point. This was easily the most relaxed any of them had been for a long time. 

She hadn't seen Mary or Lilith smile so much for months. 

"You've all gone through so much, it's nice to see you all smile." Camila continued. 

"It is." Beatrice agreed. 

"You know I love you guys a lot, right?" Camila asked. 

"I do." 

Camila's arm slipped around her waist and pulled her in for a brief hug. "No matter  _ what _ , I love you." 

Beatrice thought back to the moment between her and Ava in the lights, it had to be linked to Camila’s words somehow.

She still hadn’t seen the photo, any of them for that matter. With each one that had been taken, Camila had quickly hidden it away in an envelope.

"...I love you too." 

As she looked back towards the tree, Beatrice saw Mary let Ava down, as they laughed, Lilith pushed Ava's beanie down over her eyes, sending the trio into further fits of laughter. 

Ava pushed the beanie up haphazardly to reveal one of her eyes. She looked across the room towards Beatrice. 

When Ava grinned, Beatrice matched it with equal vigor. 

This was happiness. 

\--

After dinner, Ava was faced with a new problem.

She caught Camila's arm as the other girl was heading towards the kitchen to take her dishes in. 

"I need your help." 

"Is everything okay?" Camila asked. 

"I don't know how to wrap presents." 

Camila grinned. "Okay, one second!" 

She pulled herself free and darted into the kitchen, when she returned Camila grabbed Ava's hand and promptly dragged her through the living room, only pausing long enough to let Ava grab her bag before pulling her up the stairs. 

Beatrice, Mary and Lilith all flashed them confused looks on their way out. 

Once they were seated on the floor of the room Camila was staying in, Ava held the bag close to her chest. 

"Honestly, depending on what you have, this could either be super easy or a huge pain." 

"It's… A book." Ava replied. 

"Oh, super easy then." Camila grinned. 

She unrolled some of the wrapping paper and patted the centre. 

Ava pulled the book from the bag and quickly set it face down before Camila could see the front cover. 

"Oh, no fun." Camila pouted. 

"I'm still trying to keep some of the secret element to this." Ava pointed out. 

Camila smiled as she reached for the scissors and handed them to Ava. 

"Are you having fun?" Camila asked. 

Ava tried to cut a straight line, frowning as it veered off horribly. 

"This has been the best day." Ava replied, she set the scissors aside. "Okay this isn't working." 

"We can salvage it." Camila reached for the tape. "I don't think I've ever seen Bea so relaxed." 

"I'm glad she is though." Ava replied. "She deserves to be happy as much as anyone else." 

She watched, Camila fold the paper around the book effortlessly and fasten it in place with tape. 

"I'm really happy that you joined us, Ava." Camila said. 

She finished wrapping the gift and stuck a tag to it before pushing it back towards Ava. 

"Write her name on it before you put it under the tree, otherwise it'll probably get confusing." 

"Is this a good Christmas for you?" Ava asked. 

"It's been the best." Camila sighed happily. "Getting to spend it with you guys? My family? I couldn't ask for anything more." 

Ava carefully pushed Beatrice's present aside so that she could dive forward to hug Camila. 

Camila laughed as they fell backwards, her arms wrapped around Ava. 

"I'm lucky to have you as a sister, Cam." 

"Likewise." Camila replied. "We should probably head down soon though, the others still need to wrap their gifts." 

\--

With all of their presents tucked beneath the tree, the only source of light coming from the Christmas tree, fire and TV, Beatrice could only think of how much it looked like a scene from a Christmas movie. 

She hoped that this was what Ava had been picturing when they arrived. 

"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I'm glad we brought snacks." Lilith said. 

Originally she had claimed the armchair, but when she realised there was only one bowl for the popcorn she had quickly moved to join Camila on the floor amongst a nest of pillows and blankets.

Beatrice had taken one end of the sofa while Mary had chosen the other side. In between them, Ava sat, knees drawn up to her chest as Mary hit play on the remote. 

Considering Beatrice had caught her watching the very same movie the night before, the excitement in her eyes hasn't faded a bit. 

"God-" 

"Ava." 

" _ Dog,  _ I'm so excited for you guys to see this." Ava rested her chin on her knees. 

Beatrice already knew that she was going to be more invested in Ava's reactions. 

\--

When they reached the halfway point, Beatrice still didn't really know why Ava loved the movie so much. 

Kate Winslet's cottage was strikingly similar to the one they were staying in and while Beatrice loved the journey that her character was going on, she didn't really care that much about everything happening with Cameron Diaz and Jude Law. 

Except that scene where Cameron sang Mr Brightside. 

That was great. 

But Ava? She seemed to mouth along to the whole thing. 

Everybody else seemed to be watching along happily enough too, even Lilith held off on any sarcastic comments. 

As focused as Ava was on the movie, keeping still was something she was struggling with tonight. Shifting between dropping her legs to the ground and bringing them back up again. 

While Beatrice was happy to leave her to it without comment, Mary had no such qualms. 

"Okay seriously, either stretch out across us or get on the floor." Mary mumbled. 

Ava looked to her in surprise. "For real?" 

"Yes, before I change my mind." 

Ava turned to Beatrice. "Are you okay with that?" 

"Of course." 

It was oddly graceful, the way in which Ava spun around and threw her legs across Mary's lap, pulling her beanie off and sending it across the room as she dropped her head onto Beatrice's lap. 

Beatrice had half expected Ava to turn onto her side to watch the movie easier but was instead met with Ava smiling up at her. 

"This okay?" 

Beatrice had no idea what to do with her hand, but oddly enough, it was okay. 

She smiled back. "Yes." 

Eventually, she let one hand rest on the arm of the sofa, close enough that she could feel Ava's hair brush against her skin. 

The other settled tentatively on Ava's stomach and Beatrice searched the other girl's face for any signs of discomfort, only to be met with a soft smile. 

Ava held her gaze for a moment before she turned her head to the side, attention back on the movie. 

After a few minutes though, Beatrice felt Ava's hand cover her own and hold on tightly. 

\--

Ava didn't mean to fall asleep. 

But with one of her favourite movies playing in the background, the whole atmosphere of the room and the softness of Beatrice's lap? She didn't really stand much of a chance. 

Ava woke up during the last half an hour of the movie, just in time to see Jack Black leave Kate during their sushi 'not really a date but kind of a date' to the feeling of fingers combing softly through her hair. 

When Ava turned her head to the side to look up at Beatrice, the other girl looked away from the movie immediately to meet Ava's gaze. 

"Hey." Ava greeted quietly. 

"Hi." Beatrice whispered, her fingers halted in their movements. "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, do you like it?" 

Kate Winslet's ex appeared on screen and Beatrice frowned. "I don't like  _ him. _ " 

"Valid. He's the worst." Ava paused as Lilith reached back to slap Beatrice's leg and shushed them both. "Trust me, you'll like the next few scenes." 

Beatrice smiled. "I trust you." 

\--

When the credits rolled, Camila and Lilith both got to their feet and stretched. 

"It was long, but I liked it more than I thought I would." Lilith admitted. 

"I really liked the music." Camila said. 

Mary tapped Ava's legs so that she could stand up too. "It was cute." 

"Told you all it was great." Ava replied, sitting up and resting her back against Beatrice's side. 

Even then, Ava didn't let go of Beatrice's hand. 

"And fine, that cottage looked similar to this one." Mary sighed. 

"Thank you guys, for watching it with me." Ava said. 

She sounded so happy, Beatrice couldn't help but smile. 

"Sure thing. And I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired." Mary punctuated as much with a yawn. 

"Yeah, it's late." Lilith agreed. "But we'll be up early for breakfast and presents, okay?" 

Ava smiled. "Sounds good." 

As the others headed upstairs, Beatrice and Ava were soon left alone. 

Ava's weight was still solid against her side and as Ava went to move, Beatrice tightened her hold on Ava's hand. 

"What are you doing?" 

Ava smiled. "Getting my pyjamas?" 

Truthfully, pyjamas for all of them currently translated to sweatpants and some variation of sweater or hoody. 

"Right." Beatrice dropped Ava's hand. "Sorry." 

They both split up briefly to get changed and go to the bathroom. As Beatrice left the kitchen, glass of water in hand she saw Ava adjusting the pillows on the ground. 

"What are you doing?" Beatrice asked. 

Ava looked up and smiled, holding a pillow close to her chest. "Making my bed?" 

"What happened to alternating? You're supposed to have the sofa tonight." 

"I'd really rather you have the sofa." Ava replied. 

Beatrice set down her glass and knelt beside Ava as she eased the pillow from her hands. 

"Why?" 

"The sofa is better." Ava shrugged. "I want you to be comfortable." 

It was a small gesture, but one that Beatrice was touched by regardless. 

But despite that, if Ava didn't want her to sleep on the floor, then Beatrice didn't really want to subject Ava to the same. 

"How about a compromise?" Beatrice suggested. "Are you tired?" 

"Not particularly, I already had that accidental nap." 

Beatrice got to her feet and dropped the pillow against one arm and settled down on the sofa with her back against the arm. 

"Then we can talk for a bit." Beatrice said as she gestured to the other side of the sofa. 

Ava hesitated for only a moment before following Beatrice and throwing herself down on the other end of the sofa. 

"Did you like the movie?" She asked, stretching her legs out but being mindful not to kick Beatrice. 

"I did." Beatrice stretched her legs out too. It would only take one of them to shift slightly for their legs to tangle together. "I liked Arthur a lot, his friendship with Iris. 'I like corny, I'm looking for corny in my life.' I liked that moment."

Ava smiled. "I've always loved the little saying between Iris and Miles." 

"The 'don't blow away' one?" Beatrice asked. 

"Yeah." Ava replied quietly. "Do you think we'll have a line like that?" 

It was an innocent enough statement, but one that Beatrice could still feel the weight behind. 

Sure, they had their 'in this life or the next.' but that was far from exclusive. 

But part of Beatrice thought there was more to Ava's question than if they'd have a cute, movie styled saying. 

It felt like Ava was asking if they'd have a relationship like the movie, or a relationship in general. 

That was a topic that so far, they'd only addressed vaguely, like Ava was setting the pace with her own quiet declarations and letting Beatrice take it from there. 

So really, there was only one answer she could give.

Beatrice shifted her leg so that it bumped gently against Ava's and left it there. 

"I do." She replied. 

Ava's smile was blinding. 

"Now, I know I was technically asleep for it, but the scene with Cameron, Jude and the kids? In the little fort?" 

"With all of the stars?" Beatrice smiled. "The best scene they had together." 

Ava clearly agreed by the way she threw her head back to laugh. 

\--

The cottage was quiet, the embers from the fire were slowly fading. 

With as much care as she could, Ava untangled her legs from Beatrice's and got up from the sofa, stretching as she made her way over to the tree to turn the lights off. 

When she was basked in almost darkness, Ava took a few steadying breaths until the room lit up with the aid of the halo. 

She rearranged the blankets on the floor before pulling one over Beatrice, taking a moment to watch the rise and fall of the other girl's chest. 

Whatever this feeling was, and Ava had a pretty damn good idea what it was, she knew that she never wanted to let it go. 

Ava glanced over at the clock above the fireplace for a moment before she turned back to Ava's sleeping form. 

"Merry Christmas, Bea." She said quietly. 

There would be countless Christmases. 

But Beatrice? 

The way she felt about Beatrice? 

That was once in a lifetime. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's weird writing a fic set in my own country, even weirder setting it in a town that I know. It became a bit of a tradition to go to ludlow every christmas with my parents - that medieval christmas fair? Absolutely a thing and i have pictures (i got drunk and they let me do archery, it was great)   
> Obviously I can't go this year, so it's been kinda nice to throw that little tradition into this fic
> 
> Also black forest hot chocolate? It is the best thing ever and i get sad when they stop selling it
> 
> As for the holiday...  
> Jasper is the worst and look i LOVE the whole movie but Iris?? The best character and we love and protect her  
> "Don't blow away."   
> "I won't." - - I'm sorry but these are the only heterosexuals i care about
> 
> Not me trying to figure out if I can make the holiday into an avatrice au 😩  
> Speaking of Au... Try and peep the little hint i left for a future au i'm planning - Trix will spot it INSTANTLY
> 
> As always, you know where to find me, come say hey!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELL... I'm a day late so super sorry for that, work was really busy all week and I didn't get home till late last night (yay xmas day working?)
> 
> Either way, Merry belated Christmas to those who celebrate and I hope everyone is staying safe

When Mary woke up, it was to a soft knock at her door.

“What is it?” She called.

The door creaked open and Camila popped her head through, smiling far too brightly considering how early it was.

“Merry Christmas!”   
  
“Oh right, yeah, Merry Christmas.” Mary sat up and yawned against her hand. “What time is it?”   
  
“Seven.”   
  
“Seven?” Mary groaned. “I know we said early but… That’s early.”   
  
“I wanted to start breakfast.”   
  
“Are the others still asleep?” Mary asked.

“I can’t hear anything downstairs.”   
  
“And Lilith?”   
  
“She’s awake. She threw a pillow at me, said she’ll be down in ten.”

Mary fell back against the pillows and draped an arm over her eyes. 

"In that case, I'll be down in fifteen." 

\--

Ava sat up slowly and stretched her arms over her head. 

She froze and looked over to the clock. 

Christmas morning? 

Ava jumped to her feet, and it was only when she caught a glimpse of the still sleeping Beatrice did she curb her excitement. 

It was only seven. 

And Beatrice looked so peaceful. 

Ava moved over to the tree and crouched to flick on the lights only to pause when she caught a glimpse of outside. 

She quickly straightened up and pulled the curtain aside. 

Sure, it was dark outside, but with the light of the tree it was impossible not to notice the dusting of white on the ground. 

"Holy shit." 

She crossed the room quickly, stepping into the hallway and throwing the front door open. 

Snow. 

Actual, honest to fucking god snow. 

Okay, maybe only an inch of it at best and the flakes she desperately wanted to see were no longer falling, but Ava wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. 

Ava jumped from the door into the snow, a shiver ran up her spine as she felt the snow melt into her socks. 

Shoes, probably a good idea but that ship had already sailed. 

She knelt down to gather the snow between her hands, pressing them together as she felt the snow clump together into a small ball. 

Huh. Snow didn't feel the way she expected it to. 

"Ava?" 

Ava spun around to see Beatrice standing in the doorway, rubbing at one eye with the back of her hand. 

The grey sweater Beatrice wore was oversized in a way that made Beatrice look much smaller. 

And much, much cuter. 

"What are you doing?" Beatrice asked. 

Ava felt like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar. 

Ava stood up and held her hand out to show Beatrice the ball of snow in her hand. 

The corners of Beatrice's lips pulled up into a small smile. "You're not going to throw it at me, at you?" 

"What? No!" Ava dropped the ball and watched as it exploded into powder as it hit the ground. "Oh, cool." 

Beatrice seemed to hesitate, eyeing the snow warily before she stepped outside. 

The second Beatrice's foot touched the snow, her entire body shuddered. 

"Woah hey, what are you doing?" Ava moved closer. "It's freezing." 

Beatrice pulled the sleeves of her sweater down over her hands as she hugged her arms to her chest. Ava smiled. 

It was endearing to say the least. 

"Says the girl out here in a t-shirt." Beatrice replied. 

Ava shrugged. "I saw the snow and… Yeah." 

"What do you think?" Beatrice asked softly. 

She walked closer and came to a stop at Ava's side. 

Ava smiled as she wiped her hands on her sweatpants and glanced up at the dark sky. 

"It's… Nice." Ava replied. "I kinda wish I could see it snow though." 

Beatrice followed her gaze to the sky and hugged her arms tighter to her chest. 

"It's still early." Beatrice said. "Oh, Ava?" 

Ava turned to Beatrice and found the girl already looking at her. Beatrice didn't look sleepy now and Ava wondered if it was the cold that had brought her out of the haze.

"Yeah?" 

"Merry Christmas." 

Ava grinned. "Merry Christmas." 

Beatrice smiled back and Ava watched as her body tensed as Beatrice tried to suppress another shiver. 

"Aw, Bea." Ava stepped closer and ran her hands up and down Beatrice's arms. "Do you want to go inside?" 

"I'm fine." 

"You're freezing." 

"You're having fun, it's fine." Beatrice replied. 

Ava smiled and let her hands rest on Beatrice's shoulders. "The snow isn't going anywhere immediately, right? Even if it were, I'd rather be happy and toasty with you in there than be out here and you be cold and miserable." 

"I'm not miserable." Beatrice laughed. 

"You know what I mean, a cosy Bea is a happy Bea." 

Beatrice didn't seem to know how to react to Ava's words and truthfully, Ava didn't know what had made her say it. 

It was true, but damn, she felt like a dork. 

Beatrice shivered beneath Ava's hands. 

"Come on, inside." Ava said. "Then I'll figure out how to make tea, or something."

Beatrice allowed Ava to turn her and guide her back to the front door. "You don't know how to make tea." 

"True, but how hard could it be?" 

As they stepped back into the cottage, they were greeted by Lilith pausing halfway down the stairs. 

"I wondered why it was so cold, you’re seriously just letting all the heat out willy nilly." 

Ava snorted. "Willy." 

To her surprise, she heard Beatrice muffle a laugh too. 

Lilith pinched the bridge of her nose. "Christmas is cancelled." 

Mary brushed past Lilith and bumped their shoulders together. "Don't be a spoilsport. Merry Christmas you guys." 

"Merry Christmas." Ava grinned, she nudged the door closed with her foot.

"Why are you all wet?" Mary asked, looking at the damp patches on Ava's knees. 

"Snow."

Beatrice shivered again, much subtler this time. 

"I'm uh… Gonna put the fire on." Ava gestured towards the living room, sliding her hand down Beatrice's arm to curl loosely around her wrist to pull her with her. 

"I guess I'll put the kettle on." Lilith mumbled. 

\--

Beatrice ran her hands over her feet, willing the warmth back into them as she huddled closer to the fire. 

She was the first to admit that following Ava outside without shoes or jacket wasn't a smart move, but to have the experience of watching Ava see and feel snow for the first time made the entire thing worth it. 

Beatrice felt a blanket drape over her shoulders and she looked up from the flames in time to see Ava drop down beside her. 

"Here." Ava held out a pair of socks. 

Beatrice accepted them with a smile. "Thank you." 

Ava had donned a hoody since they had come back inside and pulled the hood up over her head as she stretched out on the floor. 

"Cam is cooking breakfast, Lilith is helping. I don't exactly know what a full English is but we're having it. There's a lot of bacon and sausage." 

Beatrice curled her hands into the blanket as she drew it closer around her and drew her knees up to her chest. 

"Sounds about right. I think you'll enjoy it. Where's Mary?" 

Ava rolled her head to smile up at Beatrice. "Outside, smoking." 

As Ava closed her eyes, Beatrice couldn't help but stare. She was more than a little surprised at how relaxed Ava seemed. 

She had expected Ava to be practically vibrating out of her skin with excitement at being faced with Christmas morning and presents. 

Instead, Ava seemed peaceful. Serene. 

Beatrice's eyes traced the curve of Ava's lips. 

She sighed quietly as she looked away. 

Beautiful. 

"You okay?" Ava asked. 

When Beatrice looked back, Ava had opened her eyes to peer curiously up at Beatrice. 

"I… Yeah." 

Ava pushed up onto her elbows. "You sure? Are you still cold?" 

Beatrice shook her head. "A little, but it's fine." 

Ava didn't seem too convinced, but she still let the comment slide, she did sit up fully though. 

"Are you excited about the presents?" 

"Yeah." Ava grinned. "You?" 

Beatrice nodded. 

"How do you think we'll do the reveal?" Ava asked quietly. 

There was an apprehension in her voice that Beatrice couldn't miss. 

"I'm sure Mary has it all worked out." Beatrice replied. 

She tried not to let her own nervousness show. 

As much as she wanted Ava to see her gift, there was still a part of Beatrice that was nervous. 

What if Ava hated it? 

Beatrice rubbed her hands together before placing them on the carpet as she kept her gaze focused solely on the fire. 

A few moments passed before she felt something brush against her right hand. 

Beatrice glanced down and saw Ava's left hand inch closer to her own. She didn't move as Ava linked her pinkie with Beatrice's. 

Ava's gaze was focused on the tree, but Beatrice heard the quiet exhale of breath all the same. 

Beatrice hesitated for a moment before she turned her hand over, palm up, and slipped it underneath Ava's. 

Ava let out a quiet laugh. "Your hands just refuse to warm up, don't they?" 

But instead of pulling away, Ava linked their fingers together and squeezed Beatrice's hand. 

\--

When Mary stepped back into the kitchen, she was greeted with a disapproving look from Lilith. 

"Did you have to leave the door open?" She asked. "It smells like smoke now." 

"Pretty sure that's just your cooking." Mary replied. 

"They're holding hands." Camila spoke up. "By the _ fire _ ." 

Mary peered around the doorway and yep, definitely holding hands by the fire. 

"Hallmark called, they want their romance beck." She said. 

Camila scoffed. "Hallmark  _ wishes  _ it had what they have." 

Lilith and Mary shared a look, each unable to hide their smiles. 

They were all rooting for the pair, that was never in question, but the extent in which Camila wanted Ava and Beatrice together? 

That was next level. 

"I almost feel bad for interrupting them…" Lilith said as she began to plate up food. "Key word being almost. This is about to be the best breakfast any of you have eaten." 

"Okay calm down Gordon Ramsey." Mary rolled her eyes. 

She popped her head around the door once more. 

"Foods ready you two!" 

To both of their credit, while they both jumped at Mary's words, neither of them pulled apart. 

\--

"That was too much." Ava groaned, she flopped backward. "Really fucking-" 

"Language." Beatrice said, on form as always. 

"Really  _ freaking _ good, but too much. I could take a nap right now." 

Beyond the music playing around them, the room was silent. 

"Oh, so I'm guessing you don't want your present then?" Mary asked. 

Now  _ that  _ had Ava sitting upright again. Everybody was looking at her with amusement from their respective seats. 

"That's what I thought." Mary laughed. 

She got up from the armchair and dropped down onto the ground beside Ava, closest to the tree. Camila dragged Lilith off of the sofa and they sat down between Ava and Beatrice. 

"You all wrote the name of who you got on the tags right?" Mary asked. 

Everybody nodded. 

"We could hand them all out and then go around in a circle to open them?" Camila suggested. 

"Will we…"Beatrice trailed off and looked thoughtful for a moment. "How do we reveal the secret santa?" 

Ava tried to meet her gaze across the circle, but Beatrice kept her gaze fixed on Mary. 

"We could guess?" Lilith said. 

It may be her imagination, but Beatrice looked nervous. 

If she was right, then it made Ava feel a little better to know she wasn't the only one. 

What if Beatrice hated her gift? 

What if she was too forward? 

Mary and Lilith shared a long look, Lilith looked extremely pleased with herself while Mary seemed to be calculating if it was a good idea or not. 

"Sure." Mary agreed. "Guessing." 

As she twisted to pull the presents from beneath the tree, Beatrice finally met Ava's gaze. 

Ava tilted her head to the side questioningly and was met with a small bit sincere smile. 

Okay. Bea was okay, that's all she needed to know. 

"First up is…" Mary lifted one of the presents and read the tag. "Bea." 

Oh fuck. 

It was really happening. Fucking fuckity fuck. 

As Beatrice curiously examined the gift and it took all of Ava's self control to try and not outwardly react. 

"Lilith and Cam." Mary leant forward and passed them their gifts. 

Both looked at the tags of their gifts and Ava realised that they were probably trying to figure out who their secret santa was based on the handwriting on the tag. 

Not that it really affected Ava, the second Beatrice opened her gift there was no way that she wouldn't know it was from Ava. 

"This one is… Oh, me." Mary dropped hers in her lap. "Which leaves Ava." 

Mary pulled the last two presents and an envelope from under the tree and pushed them towards her. 

Two? 

An envelope?

Ava reached out to brush her fingers against the crisp paper. 

"So…" Camila grinned. "Who goes first?" 

"Well, we said we'd go in a circle?" Lilith asked. She pointed at Mary first and then Ava. 

"Sure, I'll go." Mary lifted her present up, it was easily the largest gift out of them all but looked suspiciously light. 

Mary tore the paper open and smiled down at the contents. She lifted up a small gold rectangle and it was only when she flicked it open did Ava realise it was a lighter. 

"Nice." She flicked it shut. "Guess I can't quit now, huh?" 

Mary set it aside so that she could lift the next item out, it was quiet enough that when she unfolded the leather trench coat, Ava could hear Mary suck in a sharp breath. 

She'd lost her statement piece back at the Vatican and even though Mary never spoke about it, looking at Mary now, it was clear how much she had missed it. 

Mary hugged the jacket towards her chest. 

"Am I supposed to guess now?" She asked quietly. 

"Save it for the end." Lilith replied. 

The two shared a long look. 

Huh. 

"Well, until then, thank you." Mary said, addressing it to nobody in particular but even as she spoke the words her gaze flitted back to Lilith. 

Double huh. 

Mary sniffed as she carefully set aside the jacket and turned to Ava. 

"Okay, you're up." 

Ava looked down at the two gifts and the envelope in front of her. 

One was a flat, square shaped that made her brain scream  _ 'book!,  _ while the other was more of a misshapen cube. 

"I don't know… Which one do I open first?" 

"Usually, I'd say whichever one you want but uh…" Mary leaned over to tap the envelope. "I think you'll find these ones are numbered." 

She was right, in the corner of the envelope was a very neat number three. 

"Oh. Right. Cool." Ava nodded. 

The misshapen cube was the first she had to open, and as Ava tore the paper away she was met with a familiar sight. 

As Ava took the camera into her hands, she looked up to her friends. They'd been using the exact same camera the night before, hadn't they? 

But then would that mean they all knew who her secret Santa was? 

Ava looked up to scan the group, each were looking back at her with curiosity but only one thing really stood out to her. 

Beatrice's hands were clasped in her lap. 

She only did that when she was nervous, or uncomfortable. 

"It's got film in it right?" Ava asked. 

"Try it and find out." Lilith said. 

Ava lifted the camera to her face and peered through the viewfinder, leaning back to try and get them all in the frame and clicked the button. 

It was the first time she had experienced the flash without her back being turned from it and _ holy shit it's bright _ . 

The picture came out of the camera and Ava pulled it free and frowned when she found it blank. 

"I didn't realise how bright that was." Mary groaned as she rubbed her eyes. "Goodbye retinas." 

Beatrice must have noticed Ava's confusion at the lack of a photo and spoke up quietly. 

"It'll take a couple of minutes to develop." 

"Oh, right." Ava set the photo down. "This is so cool though! You guys better be ready for so many pictures." 

"I imagine that was the intention behind the gift." Lilith said. 

Ava stuck her tongue out at Lilith and reached for the book shaped gift next. 

She tore the paper away to reveal a small book, the outside was wrapped in plain black leather. Ava opened it to find the pages blank, instead, each page seemed to be split into segments and had a thin layer of plastic covering them. 

Oh. 

It was a photo album. 

It was strange how sudden everything clicked into place for Ava in that moment. 

The conversations from the day they arrived at the cottage. 

_ "I just don't… I can't picture it anymore. I don’t remember."  _

The way the group worked together to put together this little Christmas. 

_ "You've never had a real Christmas."  _

A camera, a photo album. 

A way to make memories. 

Ava wasn't sure how long she had been staring at the album, only that the others had been silent the entire time. 

She didn't care though, because as much as Ava loved her friends, there was only one option when it came to _ who _ would have given her these gifts. 

Ava lifted her head and met Beatrice's gaze. 

This time Beatrice met her steadfast, and even though her expression was neutral, Ava could see a question behind her eyes. 

"Thank you." Ava said. 

She didn't want there to be room for doubt. Ava knew that it had been Beatrice and Ava would be damned if she didn't want to kiss that girl right now. 

"I don't want to be pushy or anything… But you've still got one left." Camila pointed out. 

Ava reached for the envelope, as she lifted it she felt movement inside and while she had a pretty good idea about the contents, it didn't stop her grinning as she opened it. 

Pictures of yesterday, of her and Lilith with their backs to the camera as they decorated the tree. 

Camila, grinning and throwing a peace sign, easily the cutest selfie she had ever seen. 

Ava looked through each picture, laughing as she found the one of her balanced on Mary's shoulders as she placed the star on top of the tree. 

The laughter quickly faded as she reached the final picture. 

It was her and Beatrice, tangled in the lights. 

Ava's hands on Beatrice's shoulders, Beatrice's were settled against Ava's back and the lack of space between them was clearer in the photo than Ava's own memory of the moment.

But it was the look on both of their faces that Ava was focused on the most. 

How could they look so intense yet equally at peace? Happy and relaxed and so comfortable in each other's proximity. 

Ava knew that it was this photo being taken that had interrupted them and that she would have kissed Beatrice had it not happened, but Ava couldn't be mad about it. 

Not if they got this picture out of it. 

"I think Ava's broken." Lilith teased. "I've never heard her be this quiet." 

"A little." Ava admitted. Was she going to cry? She kinda felt like she was going to cry. "These are amazing. This is all amazing." 

Ava caught Beatrice's gaze again. So much of her wanted to just fling herself across their little circle, to wrap her arms around Beatrice and hold her and say thank you. 

Thank you for listening, for putting all of this together and making her feel closer than ever to the girls around them. 

For giving Ava the feeling of being loved. 

And truthfully, to just say thank you for existing. 

Because Beatrice was the real fucking gift here. 

"Thank you again." Ava sniffed. "Can we move on before I start crying?" 

One thing was for sure though. 

Ava didn't feel as nervous about her gift now. 

\--

Ava wouldn't stop looking at her. 

Even as Camila opened her new soundproof headphones or Lilith poured over her books on art history, whenever Beatrice looked ahead, Ava was always there to meet her gaze.

There wasn't doubt that Ava knew that Beatrice had been her secret santa, which was somewhat disarming in itself. 

But the way Ava kept looking at her wad something else entirely. 

There was so much fondness in those eyes and… Anticipation? 

It was hard to focus on anything else in all honesty. 

"Go on Bea," Camila said. "it's your turn." 

Beatrice held the present in her hands, it was unmistakably a book and there was a decent weight behind it. 

She unwrapped it carefully, pulling the tape off neatly to reveal red embossed leather and gold borders. 

The title was also gold, filling the centre of the cover. 

_ Romeo and Juliet _

The title was surrounded by a beautiful pattern of flowers. 

Much like a certain other girl, Beatrice looked up, immediately knowing in her heart that there could only be one person who could have been responsible for this gift. 

Unsurprisingly, she was already starting back at Beatrice. 

"Ava…" Beatrice breathed. 

"Okay so we're guessing now." She heard Mary whisper beside her. 

Ava smiled and nodded towards the book. 

"Open it." Ava said quietly. 

Beatrice opened the book to the first page and found an inscription in Ava's unmistakable handwriting on the first page. 

_ Beatrice,  _

_ I may not know the ins and outs of this play, but I know that you love it and that's all that matters.  _

_ I know how the story ends for Romeo and Juliet, but listen, our lives won't end in tragedy.  _

_ We get to write our own stories and determine our own futures.  _

_ You can have whatever you want from the future, I know it's scary but trust me?  _

_ You deserve everything.  _

As Beatrice blinked, she saw a single teardrop hit the page. 

"Thank you." Beatrice closed the book and held it against her chest. 

Ava smiled. 

Beatrice wanted to hug her so badly. 

"I… Think I'm going to go for a smoke." Mary announced suddenly, getting up and grabbing her new jacket. 

She wasn't exactly subtle in the way she kicked Lilith as she stepped around them. 

"Tea." Lilith said. "We need tea. Cam, we should make tea." 

"We should definitely make tea." Camila agreed. 

They weren't exactly discreet as they all fled the room, but Beatrice was thankful for it regardless. 

The intensity in Ava's eyes faded somewhat as they were left alone and was replaced with some apprehension. 

"Bea?"

Beatrice shifted onto her knees and quickly shuffled to cross the distance between them, holding the book tightly in one hand and throwing her other arm around Ava's shoulders. 

She heard a small but surprised, 'oh' from Ava as Beatrice pulled her close, but she felt Ava's arms wrap around her and her face pressed against Beatrice's shoulder. 

"I love it, thank you, Ava." 

"The message wasn't too much?" Ava asked. 

"It wasn't too much." Beatrice replied. "It was perfect." 

Ava pulled back slightly and moved her hands so that they were resting on Beatrice's shoulders. 

"There's more I wanted to say, but I think it’d sound better coming out of my mouth… Also because I'm still struggling to find the right ones." 

Ava had shown her nothing but patience, she'd extend that same courtesy. 

Beatrice reached up to brush a curl of Ava's hair behind her ear. 

"Whenever you're ready, I'll be here." She took a steadying breath. "We… We're on the same page." 

They both had feelings to talk about and things of their own to work through but they'd get there in the end. 

And they'd do it together. 

"Did you like your present?" Beatrice asked. 

"More than I can put into words at the moment." Ava replied. 

"Good. I'm glad." 

Ava grinned and tipped her head forward to rest against Beatrice's shoulder. 

"I do know something though." Ava mumbled. "I'm happiest when I'm with you." 

Beatrice brought her hand up to rest against Ava's back. 

“Me too.”  
  


\--

"That's it, I'm getting the mistletoe." Lilith groaned. 

Camila caught her wrist. "No mistletoe. Let them work this out on their own." 

She did wonder what Ava had put inside the book to get such a reaction from Beatrice, but despite that burning curiosity, Camila figured that Beatrice would share it when she was ready.

Lilith groaned. "Fine, but I'm throwing a snowball at Ava at the next opportunity." 

Weird compromise, but sure. 

Lilith softened for a moment as she turned to Camila. "Thank you by the way, for the present." 

"Was it that obvious?" Camila asked. 

"Not as obvious as that pair." Lilith gestured towards the living room. "But yeah." 

Camila grinned. "I'm glad you liked it." 

When she had seen the book, it had reminded Camila of a time when Lilith had told her about visiting Museo del Prado and how much she loved it there, so it only seemed fitting. 

"You did really good with Mary's present, by the way." Camila added. 

"Thank you, I was worried she wouldn't like it." 

"Nah, Mary loved her old jacket so much, it was perfect." 

Ava popped her head around the corner. "Hey guys." 

"Oh hey Ava, where's Bea?" 

Ava shuffled into the room fully, at some point she'd changed into her jeans and put her beanie on. 

"Getting changed, we were thinking about taking a walk? You guys wanna come?" 

Camila glanced at Lilith, who was already nodding.

"Sure, it'll be nice to explore a little bit." Lilith replied. 

More like get Ava out of the cottage long enough to nail her with a snowball. 

"Cool cool cool." Ava shoved her hands into her pockets and rocked on her feet. 

"Are you okay?" Camila asked. 

"Yeah, totally fine." Ava replied. "Happy." 

Both Camila and Lilith sensed that there was more to it than that, and Lilith took a small step away. 

"I'll go ask Mary if she wants to come too, then we'll get ready, okay?" She said. 

Ava nodded. "Sure." 

"What's up?" Camila asked as soon as Lilith was out of the room. 

"It's not a big deal." Ava replied, moving closer to Camila. "It's just… You know when you have a very specific idea for how you want something to go, but part of it is out of your control?" 

"Not exactly." Camila admitted. "Is this to do with Bea's gift?" 

Ava glanced over her shoulder, presumably to make sure the girl in question hadn't come downstairs yet. 

"Kinda. But not in the way you think?" Ava frowned at herself. "There's more to Bea's gift than just the book itself, but I'm just trying to find the right… Moment." 

Oh, this just kept getting more interesting. 

"Ava, the thing with waiting for the perfect moment is that you don't know when it'll come." 

Ava looked past her towards the window and hummed thoughtfully. "I'm really hoping for the universe to do me a solid here." 

"The setting for whatever you're planning won't matter to Beatrice, you know that right?" 

Ava smiled. "I know." 

"So don't stress about it, this is a happy day. Just go from one moment to the next." 

Ava nodded. "I can do that." 

\--

Beyond the occasional couple walking their dogs in the distance, the group were pretty much left alone as they explored the paths and fields surrounding the cottage. 

Lilith took up the front with Mary and Camila, as she had the most knowledge of the routes while Ava and Beatrice trailed just behind them. 

"I never actually asked," Ava began, raising her voice enough so the others in front could hear her. "What are we having for dinner?" 

"I wasn't about to pay extortionate prices for a turkey on Christmas Eve, so we've got a chicken instead." Lilith called back. 

"Nice, so full turkey dinner is like… The classic here?" Ava asked, turning her head towards Beatrice. 

"Traditionally, yes, though some people opt for things like duck or goose." 

"Huh, that's fair." 

Ava shoved her hands into her pockets and smiled to herself. 

"What do you want to do when we get back?" Beatrice asked. "Lilith found some more Christmas movies." 

Ava shook her head as she focused her gaze ahead. "Whatever is the majority vote, you guys have done so much for me already, I don't want to like… Hijack Christmas." 

It bothered Beatrice more than she'd like to admit that there was once a time when she thought that Ava was selfish. 

Because even though the choice to celebrate this year had been for Ava's sake, the girl had made sure at every point that everybody else felt included. 

"You're not hijacking Christmas." Beatrice replied. "Please don't think that." 

"I'm not, don't worry. I'm just trying to be conscious of everyone else having a good time." 

"It's sweet of you to take that into consideration." 

Ava snapped her attention back towards Beatrice, eyes wide with surprise even as her lips curled into another grin. 

"Sweet?" Ava repeated. "You think I'm sweet?" 

Beatrice was glad that it was so cold her cheeks were already pink. 

"You know I do." Beatrice replied. "You're anything but dishonest and I know that despite the rocky start you do genuinely care about us all." 

Beatrice took another few steps before she realised Ava had stopped walking, she turned to her questioningly. 

"Ava?" 

Ava closed the distance in a few quick steps. "I care about you all so fucking-" 

"Language." 

"Right. So freaking much, how could I not? After everything we've been through." 

She stepped closer into Beatrice's space and took her hands out of her pockets. 

"You've all been amazing, and I'm not just talking about the last few days. I'm really glad you didn't give up on me." 

Beatrice knew that a part of her wouldn't have been able to give up on Ava, no matter what. 

"Beatrice… I-" 

Whatever Ava had been about to say was lost as a snowball hit her in the side of the head, a cloud of powder spraying into Beatrice's face as Ava yelped loudly and was thrown off of her feet with the sheer force of the impact. 

Beatrice whipped around to the source of the attack and found Lilith, bracketed by Mary and Camila at her sides standing a few feet away. 

Camila had a hand over her mouth in shock while Mary was practically doubled over in laughter. 

Lilith though, stood frozen, eyes wide with shock, hand still hovering in the air. The clear perpetrator. 

"Jesus Lil, it's like you're actively trying to murder her." Mary managed to say between her laughter. 

"I… In my defence, I'm still figuring out my strength." 

Beatrice looked back towards Ava as the girl pushed herself up into a kneeling position from the ground. 

"What the hell?" Ava spat some snow onto the ground. 

"Are you okay?" Beatrice asked as she crouched down to Ava's level. 

Ava tried to wipe the snow from her face as she laughed. "I mean, a snowball caused my entire life to flash before my eyes, I definitely can't feel my face and just between us, I was very much building towards something there but… I'm good." 

Building towards what? 

"But that felt like a declaration of war right? Snowball fight?" Ava asked. 

"I really don't think there's enough snow to do that." Beatrice replied. 

Then again, Ava said she was building towards something and now Beatrice wasn't going to know what that something was going to be. 

So…

"But maybe we can get a few throws in." Beatrice added. 

Ava grinned. "Nice. I'm going to tackle Lilith."

Beatrice reached up to cup Ava's face with both hands and swiped her thumbs across Ava's cheekbones to wipe away the last traces of snow. 

Ava let out a shaky breath and reached up to cover Beatrice's hands with her own. 

"Shit, Bea." 

"...Language." 

Ava laughed a little breathlessly. "Sorry. We'll come back to this later, right?" 

Whatever it was. 

"Of course." 

"In that case, put your gloves on Bea, we have a war to win." 

\--

"Now you can both sit here and warm up." Beatrice declared, fixing them both with a stern look. 

She was still as gentle as ever as she draped another blanket over Ava's shoulders. 

Lilith held her mug close to her and avoided Beatrice's gaze. 

"Shout me if you need anything." Beatrice said as she headed towards the kitchen. 

The silence stretched between Ava and Lilith for several moments.

"Did you have to tackle me into the pond?" Lilith asked. 

"How was I supposed to know there was a pond behind that hedge?" Ava shivered at the memory. 

It didn't help that Lilith then had to drag her flailing ass out of the water. 

"You really need to learn how to swim." Lilith said. 

"It's on my to-do list." 

It was a good thing that Beatrice had only seen the aftermath, Ava didn't think she could deal with seeing Beatrice's worried face. 

"I totally won, by the way." Ava said. 

"You did not." Lilith replied. "You missed, Beatrice hit me and then you tackled me." 

"You started it. I finished it." Ava shrugged. "Wait… Why did you start it?" 

This time it was Lilith's turn to shrug. "Trying to give you the Christmas experience." 

"Maybe give a girl a heads up next time? You kind of interrupted something." 

Ava still didn't know whether to blame her friends or the universe for consistently stopping her from kissing Beatrice. 

Lilith frowned. "What?" 

"I don't want to go into details," Ava sighed. "But it was to do with the rest of Beatrice's present." 

_ Something  _ seemed to dawn on Lilith as her eyebrows shot up. "Oh no." 

"Oh no?" 

"I'm sorry." 

Now Ava was a little lost. 

"Okay? I'm sorry I dunked you into a frozen pond, for the record." Ava replied. "Have you noticed that even though we're like, best friends, we try to kill each other a lot?" 

"Best friends?" Lilith asked with a smirk. 

"Well, you gave me the turtle dove, you tell me." 

"Ugh, fine. You're right." 

"Well shit, try not to sound put out by it." 

"I'm kidding, Ava." Lilith rolled her eyes. “I’ll try not to murder you for Christmas.”

  
  


\--

  
  


With Ava and Lilith suitability thawed out and their dinner cooking, all that was left was to sit back and relax. 

And by Mary's insistence, that included watching Home Alone. 

She'd claimed the armchair once more while Lilith and Camila took up the sofa leaving Beatrice and Ava to the nest of blankets. 

"I still don't understand why he didn't just call the police." Beatrice said quietly. 

Ava pressed closer against her side. "He thinks he wished them away, he probably thinks he'd go to jail for magical manslaughter." 

That certainly took a darker turn. 

Under the blankets, Beatrice felt Ava reach for her hand, linking their fingers together. 

"What's your favourite Christmas movie?" Ava asked. 

"I don't think I have one." Beatrice admitted. "I think I've only seen a handful." 

"But out of the ones you have?" 

"It's a Wonderful Life." 

Ava grinned. 

Beatrice couldn't help but smile too. "What?" 

"Nothing, I just think that's… It's really fitting." 

"Fitting? How so?" 

"Unquestionably a classic, and you strike me as the type who loves all the classics. Great music and the story is just… Hopeful?" Ava replied. 

Oh. 

Ava wasn't exactly wrong. 

"I didn't realise you put so much thought into what I might like." 

"We both know that I spend a lot of time thinking about you. I'm just trying to figure you out." 

And there she goes again, taking those first steps, opening the dialogue. 

Another chance for Beatrice to meet her halfway. 

_ "There's more to it than you're telling."  _

_ "There's always more."  _

That had been a deflection if Beatrice had ever known one, unwilling to share a huge part of herself with a complete stranger. 

But then she had essentially told Ava her biggest secret only a few days later. And not only had Ava accepted that secret without judgment, she had also held it close to her.

"You can ask, if you want." Beatrice replied quietly. "I know I still have a lot of secrets, and it won't always be easy… But I'll share them with you." 

To Beatrice, it felt as though it didn't live up to Ava's own declarations, but from the look on Ava's face, the other girl didn't feel the same. 

Beatrice could tell that Ava took Beatrice's words to heart and could see the significance of them settle in her chest based purely on Ava’s expression. 

Ava shifted closer to drop her head onto Beatrice's shoulder as she squeezed her hand tighter. 

"Thank you, Bea." She whispered. 

\--

Camila was an amazing cook, that much was never a question, so after they had all eaten and had time to recover from the virtual food coma she had put them all in, Mary had volunteered to do the dishes. 

Ava had offered her help too and so the pair found each other side by side, Mary washing the dishes while Ava dried them and put them away. 

The others were in the living room watching Elf, a favourite of Camila's. 

"Figured you'd want to watch that." Mary said as she handed Ava another plate. "Will Ferrell's characters seem to have the chaotic childlike energy that would resonate with you." 

Ava frowned as she took the plate. "I'm not entirely sure if that was a compliment or an insult." 

"If it helps, I meant it as a compliment." 

"Oh, then thanks." Ava replied. "I actually needed your advice on something?" 

Mary glanced at Ava and the way she was directing all of her attention to drying the plate in her hands. 

There was only one topic that Mary could think of that Ava would want to ask her about. 

"Is it to do with Bea?" 

Ava looked at her, though she only seemed mildly surprised. 

"You guys know, huh?" 

"You weren't exactly subtle about your crush before we got here." Mary pointed out. "it's kind of hard to miss." 

"Huh. Duly noted. You guys leaving us alone is really starting to make more sense." 

Okay so Ava was catching on faster than Mary thought. Time to redirect focus before she figured out their part in the secret santa. 

"So what did you want advice on?" Mary asked. 

"This stays between us?" Ava asked. 

"Sure." 

"Seriously dude." 

Mary rolled her eyes. "I swear this will stay between us." 

Ava nodded, apparently satisfied and set the plate aside. 

"I want to kiss Bea." 

Well, Mary already knew that much. 

"Okay?" 

"But things keep fucking up! Like I know that I haven't initiated a first kiss before and I don't want to make her uncomfortable by just throwing it at her, I'd ask first you know?" 

"Well it's a good thing you take consent seriously." Mary said. 

"Of course? But like, twice now there's been moments where it felt like the perfect moment but then it got fucked up." 

Mary knew that one of the moments had to of been when they were tangled in the lights but… 

"Oh shit, when Lilith snowballed you?" 

"Yep." 

Damn, Lilith was going to be pissed at herself if she found out what she'd interrupted a potential nearly kiss. 

"So it just feels like the universe is just telling me to back off." 

"Well that's just bullshit." Mary shrugged. "It's not the universe, it's just your friends interrupting you. We're in close quarters so that is inevitable sometimes but you'll get the moment okay?" 

"What, are you going to wrestle Lilith to the floor so she doesn't try and kill me again?" 

"If I have to, yeah." Mary said. "As for the rest, you already have it all laid out well. First kisses can be scary, especially if you haven't experienced many, but you'll be fine. You've done good so far right?" 

Ava nodded, more to herself than anything. "Right." 

Some of Ava's nervousness made Mary think of Shannon and how, much like the current halo bearer, it had been Shannon to make that first move and make her feelings known.

Mary's hands were still wet, so she settled for a brief shoulder bump instead. 

"You're doing fine kid." 

Ava let out a long breath. "Thank you." 

"Was that the only reason you volunteered to help?" 

"Pretty much." 

"You can go catch the rest of the movie you know, I don't mind finishing up in here." 

"Nah it's good, I'll help." 

"You sure?" 

"Course, unless you'd rather have time alone?" Ava asked. "I get it if you do." 

There was an unspoken implication there that Mary couldn't miss. 

She'd already had her time alone that morning to reflect and send a prayer for Shannon. 

She didn't want to be on her own anymore. 

"It's fine." Mary replied. "Being with you guys? It's what Shannon would want me to do." 

"What was he favourite Christmas movie?" 

Mary grinned. "Home Alone 2. She always preferred it over the original." 

"We'll watch that next." Ava decided. 

It was sweet, how Ava seemed to want to do something to honour Shannon. 

"You're a good one, you know that?" 

Ava grinned. "Since when?" 

"Don't get me wrong, you're still a massive pain in my ass, but you've got a good heart under there." 

"Aw, thank you, you didn't miss a beat there." 

Mary glared. "Was that a fucking pun?" 

Ava hesitated for a moment. "If I say yes, will you take everything you said back?" 

"No, but I may have to throw some of this water at you." 

\--

Beatrice looked up as Ava and Mary returned to the living room, Ava headed straight for her and dropped down at Beatrice's side, stretching out so that she was practically lying on the ground. 

She stared at Ava for a moment too long before she realised what had changed in the time she had been gone. 

"Why are you all wet?" 

"Incident with the water, don't worry about it." Ava grinned. 

"I thought Mary was doing the dishes?" Camila asked. 

"Minor hiccup." Mary shrugged. 

"There's not long left of this one." Lilith gestured towards the TV, gently steering the conversation away. "Any suggestions on what's next?" 

Ava glanced towards Mary, who gave her a small nod in return. 

"We were thinking Home Alone 2 if that's okay?" Ava said. 

"Sure. It's already down there." Lilith pointed to the small stack of dvd's by the TV. She looked towards Mary, apparently having some kind of realisation. "Oh. That was Shannon's favourite, wasn't it?" 

"Yeah." 

Beatrice glanced towards Ava. The pair must have had some kind of conversation for Ava to know to make that suggestion. 

It really seemed to be the quiet ways Ava showed her thoughtfulness for others that seemed to touch Beatrice the most. 

Ava turned her head towards her and smiled. "You okay?" 

"It's nothing, it's just… You." 

"Me?" 

How did she put into words how everything Ava did surprised her in the best way? How she lit up the room the moment she walked in and everything seemed to fade until Ava was the only thing that Beatrice could focus on. 

If they were alone then maybe. Maybe she could get the words out. 

Beatrice nodded. " _ You. _ "

She reached for Ava's hand once more and hoped that Ava would understand the depth of what Beatrice was trying say. 

The thing is, Ava was very good at reading behind the lines of Beatrice's gestures. 

It was a gentle callback to Ava's own words back in Costa, afterall.

That in itself was slightly daunting. To willingly allow someone this close.

But Ava merely smiled and squeezed Beatrice's hand as she laced their fingers together as she drew the blanket over their laps. 

\--

With the movie finished, Beatrice excused herself to go to the bathroom, leaving Ava alone on the floor.

Mary got to her feet too and stretched. “I’m gonna go for a smoke. Do you guys want anything while I’m up?”

“Can you put the kettle on?” Lilith asked.

“You got it.”

Camila stretched her arms above her head and glanced towards the window, it had fallen dark some time ago but Ava knew it couldn’t be that late into the evening.

“What next?” Camila asked.

“I feel like we’re close to exhausting the Christmas movies.” Ava replied. 

“There isn’t much else to do.” Lilith said. 

“True.” Ava agreed. “You choose the next one though Lilith.”

Mary came hurrying back into the living room, an unlit cigarette hanging from her lips as she looked directly at Ava.

“You might want to look outside.”

Ava frowned but got to her feet, stepping around the tree to press her face close to the glass.

At first all she could see against the darkness were the lights of the tree and her own reflection, she could see Mary, Lilith and Camila all watching her too.

And then she saw the first snowflake.

“Oh my God.”

Ava turned on her heel and dived for her boots by the fire, as she shoved her feet in she grimaced at the dampness she could still feel on the sole but pushed it aside in favour of grabbing her jacket and pulling it on. 

“Ava, here.” Mary called.

Ava turned around just in time to catch her scarf and threw it around her neck as she headed towards the front door, pulling it open and stepping into the cold, pulling the door almost closed as she did.

She laughed as the snow fell around her, the flakes seemed to be much bigger now that she was outside and Ava could feel them melting against her face and hands, getting caught in her hair.

It was just as magical as she had hoped it would be.

\--

As Camila moved to follow, Mary gently stopped her with a hand on the younger girl's shoulder.

“Give her a few minutes..” Mary said quietly. “Trust me.”   
  
She was going to give Ava that perfect moment she had been longing for. 

\--

Beatrice felt a sudden chill as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She looked to the front door and frowned when she realised it was only pushed to. 

Mary must have gone out front to smoke.

Her theory was quickly disproven when she turned towards the living room and found Mary standing there, jacket on and a cigarette in her hands.

She quickly realised that Ava wasn’t in the room.

Mary nodded towards the door, but didn't say anything. She didn't need to. 

Beatrice turned and slipped her shoes on and headed outside with only her sweater to shield her from the cold. 

The first thing she noticed was the halo glowing through Ava's jacket, illuminating the path. 

Next came the snow fluttering down around them. 

Any potential anxiety that had threatened to build faded in an instant as Beatrice observed the girl before her.

Ava had her arms outstretched and Beatrice heard a laugh of pure joy fall from her lips as the halo pulsed brighter.

Beatrice would be content to exist in this moment forever.

This was Ava truly unbound, unburdened.

_ “I just know that I’m happy when I’m around you and when you’re happy it feels like nothing can go wrong in the world.” _

Beatrice had thought she had known what Ava had meant when she had said that, but now? Now Beatrice truly understood the true weight behind that declaration.

Because while she had felt a similar sentiment before, this was an example of the purest form.

There was another word that sprang to mind, the simplest and most well known interpretation of Ava’s words.

Love.

This had to be love.

Ava spun on the spot, freezing on the spot as her gaze locked with Beatrice’s. Her hands dropped to her sides as a brief look of embarrassment flashed across Ava’s face at being caught in her moment of joy.

The halo didn’t dim though, and neither did her grin.

“Hey.”   
  
“Hi.”   
  
Ava reached up to rub the back of her neck. “Uh… How long have you been there?”   
  
Beatrice closed the door and walked down the path to reach Ava. “A few minutes. You got your wish.”   
  
Ava laughed. “Yeah.”   
  
“Everything you hoped for?”   
  
“Definitely.” Ava eyed her critically. “Aren’t you cold?”   
  
She was, but right now that didn’t matter.

“I’m fine, truly.”    
  
Ava looked back towards the sky for a few moments as her expression suddenly turned thoughtful and as she met Beatrice’s gaze once more something had shifted.

Her eyes had softened and Beatrice felt a sudden rush of anticipation.

“Remember earlier, when we were talking and I said we’d come back to it later?”   
  
“Right before you tackled Lilith into a pond? How could I forget.”   
  
Ava laughed at the memory. “This is the perfect moment Bea, if you’re ready?”   


The anticipation she felt now was the same as she had then, the same as when they had been tangled in the lights.

Part of her knew on a level where this was going.

“I’m ready.” 

“Okay.” Ava nodded as she let out a long breath. “Okay.”   


Silence fell between them for a few seconds as Ava seemed to search for the right words.

“I’ve been trying to figure out the right way to start this, but I struggle, but that’s almost fitting you know?”   
  
“Fitting how?” Beatrice asked.

“Beginnings are hard.” Ava shrugged. “Do you know why I found it fitting that it’s a Wonderful Life was your favourite Christmas movie? Beyond what I told you earlier?” 

There were more reasons?   
  
“Why?”   


Ava stepped closer into Beatrice’s space. "The thing with it's a Wonderful Life is that it's all about showing what would have been if he hadn't been around and stuff. It gives the main dude hope for the future right?" 

Ava was so closer now that they were almost touching, snowflakes clung to her jacket and hair and Beatrice fought to resist the urge to wipe them away.

"I… Yes, I guess you're right." 

"And I know with our lifestyles and everything going on at the moment it's hard to think of a future, it’s even harder to imagine a future for ourselves, I get that.”   


Beatrice would argue that Ava would understand those feelings more than anyone else. 

"But that's the thing Bea, despite everything else, and I wrote this in Romeo and Juliet, we get to write our own stories-" 

"And determine our own futures." Beatrice finished. 

Ava's smile was the fondest she had ever seen it.

"That's right." She said quietly.    
  
On cue, a small shiver tore through her body.

Except this time, Beatrice couldn't be certain that it was entirely from the cold. 

Ava reached up and pulled her scarf off, closing the scarce distance between them to gently loop it around Beatrice's neck. 

She didn't let go of the edges. 

"Your gift to me were memories and a way to create and preserve them." Ava said. "I wanted to give you Romeo and Juliet because I could see how much it meant to you, that it was something from your childhood that you were fond of." 

Beatrice was quickly forgetting how to breathe steadily and she could tell from the way Ava kept fidgeting with the ends of the scarf that the anticipation and energy between them was slowly becoming too much for her to bare too. 

They were hurtling towards a single moment and both of them knew it. 

"I wanted to honour your past, Bea, but that was only part of the gift I wanted to give you." 

"Oh?" Beatrice tried not to wince at just how strained her voice felt. 

"You gave me memories." Ava whispered. "So I want to gvie you the promise of a future." 

Breathless. 

There was no other way to describe it. 

"Ava…" 

"You can have whatever you want, build whatever future you want and you deserve everything and more. And if you'll let me, I'll do what I can to make that happen." 

A snowflake clung to Ava's cheek and this time, Beatrice didn't fight her impulse. 

As always, it was feelings laid bare, Ava taking that leap of faith. Taking that free fall and giving Beatrice the choice to catch her. 

Beatrice was always going to catch her. 

But this time? It was time to dive too. 

She reached up to wipe the snow from Ava's cheek with her thumb and let her palm rest flat against her face. 

"You can't promise that we won't end in tragedy Ava." Beatrice said quietly. "We don't know what's going to happen." 

"No, I can't." Ava agreed. "But I can promise that whatever happens, I'm not going anywhere." 

Beatrice reached up with her other hand to cup Ava's cheek and tipped her head forward to rest their foreheads together. 

When she sighed, she felt Ava's shaky exhale against her lips. 

"I thought I had things figured out, that things made sense." Beatrice closed her eyes. "You changed that and it terrified me, it still terrifies me." 

"I terrify you?" Ava asked. 

Beatrice pulled back to meet Ava's gaze. "In the best possible way. The way you make me feel? I never thought I'd experience it. I only thought I'd see it from a distance, in books or between other people."

She knew the word, and she knew Ava did too. 

She didn't have to say it. 

It was clear in the actions between them, the looks they shared. 

Ava smiled. "Beatrice?" 

"Yes?" 

"I want to be forward again." She said. "Can I kiss you?" 

This was it. 

The dive. 

Beatrice nodded. "Yes." 

Ava tilted her head up slightly and pulled ever so gently on the edges of the scarf to bring Beatrice closer. 

When their lips met, everything seemed to stop. 

This was the free fall. 

The warmth that settled in her chest quickly spread out through her whole body. It was soft, tender and so full of love it felt like Beatrice's heart was going to burst. 

Yeah. This was love. 

When Ava pulled away, she did so only slightly, enough to leave barely an inch between them. 

Beatrice opened her eyes slowly and wondered if she looked as dazed as she felt. 

Ava definitely did. 

The halo was burning brighter than Beatrice had ever seen it, illuminating them both. 

"Holy shit." Beatrice breathed. 

Ava grinned. "Language." 

Okay, that was fair. 

"Oh hush." 

Ava laughed and dropped her head to Beatrice's shoulder to try to hide it. 

"This feels like one of those moments where I'd say make me." Ava replied, voice muffled by Beatrice's sweater. 

"Is that your way of saying I can kiss you?" Beatrice asked. 

Ava lifted her head, an unmistakable glint in her eye. "Most definitely." 

Beatrice leant in and kissed Ava with more enthusiasm, sliding her fingers into Ava's hair and smiling against her lips as Ava looped her arms around Beatrice's neck. 

With the snow falling all around them, it felt like a storybook moment. 

It could have been the glue from the halo, but Beatrice was vaguely aware of a flash of light. 

(What were the chances of one of the others borrowing Ava's camera? Honestly quite high knowing her sisters.) 

But that didn't matter in the face of this perfect moment. 

When they broke away this time, they were both equally breathless. 

"So, this is our thing now, right?" Ava asked. 

"I wouldn't ask you to choose between this or puns, but I know which one I'd prefer." Beatrice replied. 

"Oh, I'd give up puns without a doubt." 

Now that was big talk coming from Ava. 

Beatrice brushed a lock of Ava's hair behind her ear. "For the record, I'm not asking you to give up puns." 

"Okay. Cool. Cool, cool, cool." 

"I do have a question for you though." 

Ava tilted her head questioningly. "Oh?" 

"Do you think the others rigged the secret santa so that we would get each other?" 

"Oh without a doubt." Ava replied immediately. 

"Thought so. Should we tell them that we know?" 

Ava glanced towards the cottage and smiled. "Nah, let them have this one." 

Beatrice smiled. "We should go inside soon, before Lilith materialises out of nowhere and snowballs you again." 

"Hm. Good call." Ava agreed. "Hey Bea?" 

"Yes?" 

Ava pressed a gentle kiss to Beatrice's cheek. "Merry Christmas." 

Beatrice smiled. "Merry Christmas Ava." 

Ava was right, beginnings were hard. 

But once you got past that part? The world would open up. 

They could write their own story. 

And they would have a future. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all again for reading and being the best fucking people, it really is appreciated.
> 
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> 
> as always, you can find me [here](https://yashastrongarms.tumblr.com/)


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